An Unlucky Draw
by Special FX
Summary: When a new piece enters the game, plans go awry and the board is forever changed. For the players, the outcome of the game had now become an uncertainty. A Wild Card had been drawn.
1. Chapter 1: The Wild Card

Emptiness.

In the endless void that he floated in, that one word had become his entire being. Time had no meaning in this vast sea of nothingness. At times, he wanted to scream, to lash out in frustration, but he could neither move nor speak. The chains that cemented him to the seal had made sure of that.

It was a disgusting feeling; this helplessness was one that could drive a person towards madness. The only reason that he himself had not gone insane was because of the ashen haired women that stood in front of him. In this vast darkness, she was like a glittering ray of hope.

The woman had a sad smile on her face as she began to mouth two words.

" _Farewell, Minato."_

And then, she was gone; vanished in a flicker of light. That numbing feeling of emptiness began to settle in once more. The darkness around him began to creep closer and closer. The oblivion embraced him, and once more he found himself succumbing to the emptiness of this godforsaken void.

He hated the feeling.

* * *

 **A Persona 3 x RWBY Crossover**

 **An Unlucky Draw  
**

 **Chapter 1-**

 **The Wild Card**

* * *

His eyes slowly flickered open. The soft feeling of the pillow case underneath his head brought him a comforting reminder that he was no longer in that terrible place.

It had been a dream. A memory of a time long past. Of a time that he would rather not experience again.

It was an experience that he was all too happy to leave it as it was; a memory. He did not regret becoming the seal; it was a necessary sacrifice to protect what he cherished most. That did not mean he liked it though.

It was a necessity, a requirement. At least, that was what he told himself after every time this nightmare occurred.

He let out a small sigh as he slowly rose up to sit on the edge of his bed. The only sign of illumination outside came from the half shattered moon that hung in the night sky. Once again, like many a night before, he found himself standing by his window, staring at that oddly shaped rock in the sky.

It had been a little over a year since he had found himself here, on this strange new world. In the beginning, he was bewildered, as he searched for the others to no avail. After the first night, after the first time that he seen that oddly shaped moon, that was when he began to comprehend just exactly what kind of situation he was in. The reason why he couldn't find the others was simply because they didn't exist here.

He was alone.

He was alone, just like he was in the beginning, before SEES, before the Velvet Room, before Ryoji, and before the Shadows. It was a familiar feeling for him, yet a foreign one at the same time, as he had grown used to the constant companionship of his colleagues, of his friends.

Still, life moved on, no matter his hesitancies. Eventually, he found himself settling into a daily routine, just like in the past. He had found himself a job working at a small little café in a nearby town and had managed to earn enough to rent a cheap apartment close by.

Initially, he had assumed that he was here for a reason. That he had been released from the seal to help accomplish some task that needed to be done. As the weeks soon morphed into months and still, nothing out of the ordinary occurred, he began to have second thoughts.

Just why was here? What happened with the seal? And how was everyone doing? Dozens and dozens of different questions of the sort ran through his mind.

An annoying little beep began to ring through the room as his hand subconsciously reached for the alarm on his nightstand, shutting it off.

He blinked, having been shaken out of his stupor and glanced outside the window once more. What had once been a starry night sky accompanied by a half shattered moon had now morphed into the beginnings of an early sunrise.

He looked down at his alarm clock and the glowing red numbers on the screen signaled only one thing.

It was almost time for work.

* * *

He enjoyed his job. He really did. It was a small little café that his boss, Charlotte, a blonde haired woman in her mid-twenties ran. He was her only employee and had been for the past year.

That wasn't because Charlotte was a bad boss. If anything, from what he had seen, she ran a very well run business and had done so on her own for quite some time. In the back of his mind, he had a feeling that she only hired him because he was in a bit of a bad situation at the time. Of course, Charlotte would always deny this, claiming that she was tired of running the place on her own and had been looking for reliable help for a while.

Nonetheless, he was grateful to the woman. Not only for helping him out, but for looking after him as well. She had been the one to help him find his apartment in the first place. She couldn't pay him much, but money was never a priority. And it was true; money never meant much of anything to him. It was simply a tool that he required to sustain himself with, nothing more and nothing less.

Now, that didn't mean they were barely scraping by or anything. While business wasn't exactly booming per say, they still made enough. And with the Vytal festival that was coming up soon, the amount of travelers coming into the city had increased exponentially. That meant more customers and more work for the café.

He didn't mind though. The work was menial, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. It brought a sense of familiarity to him, as he had worked at a similar establishment in the past.

* * *

Neopolitan.

She had never told him her last name. He had never asked either, so that was all that he knew her as.

The odd little girl had become somewhat of a regular customer of his. Like clockwork, she would come in, twice a week, always at the same time. Neopolitan would always sit at the table in the corner of the room, and when he would walk by to drop off the menu, she would always have this sly grin on her face. He never knew what to make of it.

When the multi-hair colored girl was ready to order, she would always wave him over, while never making a sound in the process. There were times where he would miss her as she would never utter a single word. She usually got annoyed at him when this happened and would pout. She didn't tip when this happened either. He had always thought that had been somewhat petty of her, after all if he wasn't constantly looking at her direction, how would he know if she was ready to order?

Nonetheless, even when that little problem occurred, Neopolitan would always come back to the café, and would always come back at the same time as before.

From what he had seen, the girl had quite the sweet tooth. In fact, she almost exclusively ordered sweets from the desert section on the menu. And for such a tiny frame, she could eat a lot of sweets.

Neopolitan never spoke. She would communicate with gestures and facial expressions instead. Their occasional conversations were odd little things. He was never a man of many words, but in this case, he was the one that did all the talking. For once in his life, he was the one that was doing the speaking and someone else was the one that was doing the listening. It was a strange experience, but in a way, he supposed that it was rather refreshing.

He supposed that their little talks made for quite a strange sight. His boss would always give him a peculiar look whenever Neopolitan would drop by.

Still, despite her rather odd quirks, he could honestly say that he enjoyed their quiet little talks. It had settled into a part of the daily routine that he had developed.

So, it came as a surprise for him when Neopolitan walked into the café with a companion this time. That wasn't something that she normally did.

She took a seat at that same table in the corner of the room. Her companion followed suit. When he went to drop off the menus, he was able to get a better look at the multi-hair colored girl's companion.

He was an older man, and a rather well-dressed one at that, with bright orange hair that covered one side of his face. As he passed the little plastic menus to the odd pair, he could feel the eyes of the man bare into him.

"So, _this_ is the place that you're always wandering off too?" The man asked his little companion.

Neopolitan simply gave a nonchalant shrug before she handed the menu back to him with a smile.

" _Give me the usual."_

He took the piece of plastic back and gave a small nod in response. He had gotten rather good at understanding Neopolitan's odd way of communicating after their third meeting. He was always good at reading people, so it didn't take much for him to become adept at Neopolitan charades.

"Wow, you actually understand her kid?" The orange haired man asked as he handed the menu back as well, "I'll have an expresso by the way."

He nodded once again and wrote down the orders onto his notepad.

"Oh great, don't tell me you're a mute too."

Neopolitan shot the man a pointed look.

"What? It's already hard enough just playing charades with you. I don't want to do it with everyone else."

She rolled her eyes and looked away in response.

"Oh come on, don't pout now," The man sighed, "Look, it'll by my treat, alright?"

He didn't catch the rest of the conversation as he had wisely decided to get back to work. More and more people were beginning to come in and the last thing he wanted to do was cause a log jam for Charlotte because he was busy slacking off.

* * *

Schnee.

Even for someone like him, who was woefully ill-informed about the world, he had still heard of that name. The Schnee Dust Company was everywhere; on the news, on the radio, on the internet, they were impossible to not hear about. It was understandable though, they were the largest corporation in the world.

So, it didn't come as a surprise to him that he could recognize one of the heirs to the Schnee Corporation. Though, what was surprising for him was that the youngest of the Schnee's would actually come to a little café in the middle of downtown Vale.

"Excuse me," The Schnee heiress began, "I'm Weiss, and this is Yang," She tilted her head at her blonde haired companion, "We're looking for our friend, Blake. She has black hair, yellow eyes, and wears a black bow. Have you seen anyone that fits that description?"

He blinked as his brain took a moment to process the new information. That was unexpected, but it made sense. After all, he found it hard to believe that someone as rich and powerful as herself would come to a random little cafe for a snack. He tried to recall if any of the previous customers had fit that description. When nothing came to mind, he simply shook his head.

"I see," The blonde one replied as she sighed, "Well, thanks anyway."

They had left as quickly as they had arrived.

As he got back to work, he couldn't help but think of how much that girl had reminded him of Mitsuru.

The hair color was different, as were the eyes. But, it wasn't the appearance, but the way that she presented herself, the way that she acted, like an aristocrat. Then there was the fact that they both had extremely similar backgrounds, being heiresses to massive mega-corporations and what not.

The thought actually made him a bit homesick. He couldn't help but wonder how everyone else was doing right now. He missed Tatsumi Port Island, he missed the Iwatodai Dormitory, but most of all, he missed his friends.

It was a depressing feeling, one that he would rather avoid. He turned his attention back towards his work. He was glad that he had something to occupy his time with. Otherwise, his mood would grow dark and his mind would settle back into thinking dark thoughts.

* * *

Things had been getting rather hectic as of late, with all of the Dust robberies that had been going on around town. Only Dust shops had been targeted, but that didn't stop other business owners from worrying. That long list of owners had now included his own boss as well.

Charlotte had started closing the café a lot earlier than usual. Now, that meant that he would make less money as he had less time to work, but that didn't really bother him. What did bother him was that he now had all this extra time to himself where he had nothing to do. He needed things to occupy his time with, otherwise his mind would wander back to rather unpleasant thoughts of the past.

So, he had decided to take up reading once again. He had always been an avid reader in his past life. Luckily for him, there was a bookstore just a couple blocks down from the café. Tukson's Book Trade was a small little bookstore that was run by a single person.

Tukson himself was anything but small though. The man easily dwarfed him, but despite his appearance, Tukson was more of a gentle giant than anything.

It was too bad that he was leaving soon. The older man had mentioned that he was planning on moving to Vacuo sometime in the future. It was a shame, as he had become somewhat of a regular of the little bookstore.

Tukson's Book Trade might not have been "home to every book under the sun" like the slogan claimed, but they did have a rather large collection. The books served as a good time consumer, and Tukson himself usually charged a good price for the reading material.

"Find a good book yet Minato?" The older man called out from the backroom.

He closed the novel in his hand and gave it a good once over. It was a fantasy novel that was about a man with two souls. It seemed interesting enough, so he brought the book with him to the front desk and rang the bell.

Tukson soon emerged from the dimly lit room carrying a rather large stack of books. He dropped them off on the side before he headed over towards the register and began to ring up the book.

"Hmm, _The Man with Two Souls_ huh?" Tukson murmured as he glanced at the back of the book, "I've heard this was pretty good."

"Hopefully that holds true," He replied as he began to take out his wallet.

"Don't worry about the payment. This one's on the house."

He raised an eyebrow at that.

Tukson gave him a smile before he put the book into a bag and handed it to him.

"You've been one of my better customers Minato, think of it as a parting gift," The older man said.

He took the bag from him and nodded.

"So, you are leaving soon then I presume?"

"Yeah," Tukson nodded as well, "Next week to be exact."

"That is…" He paused, contemplating his words, "Rather sudden."

"Yeah, I know that I said that it probably wouldn't happen for a couple of months but," Tukson sighed, "A rather unfortunate turn of events have forced my hand."

"I see."

He didn't press any further. While he was a little bit curious about the situation, it wasn't any of his business. If Tukson didn't want to speak anymore on the issue, then he wouldn't pry.

"You should stop by before I leave, I can give you a couple more books," Tukson added, "You know, so I don't have to carry as much stuff with me back to Vacuo."

He gave a wry smile at the older man's attempt at humor.

* * *

"Take your pick," Tukson said as he continued to stack more books, "You can take as many as you want."

He looked around at the large stacks of books that occupied the shelves in the backroom of the bookstore. Genres that ranged from fantasy to romance were neatly split into different sections. He let his eyes wander a little more before he stuck his hand into a random shelf and pulled out a book.

 _A Knight and his Journey_

It seemed to be a fantasy novel. He quickly flipped through the book and gave it quick once over before he put the book back into its place in the shelf. He had just finished a fantasy novel recently, so he wasn't all too interested in reading another one.

As he looked through the different stacks of books, a familiar bell could be heard being rung outside.

"Be right there!" Tukson yelled out, "I'll be right back Minato."

He nodded absently mindedly as he continued to scour through line of books. He pulled out another book at random and took a glance at the back of it. It seemed to be a mystery novel. He was never really interested in mystery novels so he put the book back into its place.

When the lights in the room began to dim, he raised an eyebrow. He glanced over at the door and saw that the rest of the lighting in the building had gone out as well.

Had the power cut out?

He stepped out from the backroom. What immediately caught his attention was how tense the atmosphere seemed to be. He glanced between Tukson and the two new people standing in front of the front desk. There was a girl with green hair and a boy with grey hair.

"Who is he Tukson?" The green haired girl asked as she turned her attention towards him.

"He's just a customer," Tukson tersely replied, "He doesn't have anything to do with this."

"Well," The grey haired boy said as he slammed the book he was holding shut, "He does now."

"Minato, there's an exit in the backroom," Tukson curtly stated, "Get ready to make a break for it."

"Oh, your new friend isn't going anywhere Tukson," The green haired girl smirked as she took a step forward.

For a moment, nobody moved. Then, in an instant, Tukson leaped over the front desk and launched himself at the girl. What surprised him though were the sharp claws that grew out of the bookstore owner's nails. He watched as the girl expertly danced around Tukson's wild swings. That girl was skilled.

"Aren't you forgetting about someone?"

The kick was so fast that he almost failed to dodge it. He stumbled backwards a bit but managed to rebalance himself by grabbing onto a nearby bookshelf.

"Oh? Not bad," The grey haired boy commented with a mildly impressed look on his face, "You might make this interesting after all."

What came next was, instead of a single kick, it was a flurry of them. This time though, he was ready for it. As he dodged the onslaught of blows, he frowned at how slow his reactions were. Having not been in combat for so long, he supposed that it was to be expected that his skills would have dulled.

Another kick came flying at his face from an angle that made it impossible to dodge. He held up his left arm in an effort to block the attack. He couldn't help but wince at the cracking sound that his forearm made when the kick connected. He leaped backwards and created some space as he inspected his arm. He winced once more as he tried to move the limb to no avail, it was probably broken. Either the other boy was wearing heavy plating on his legs or they were made of metal.

"Hey, you're pretty good," The grey haired boy smirked, "I'm better though."

He didn't say anything in response. Instead, with his other hand, he reached into his pocket for his evoker. It had been a long time since he'd used the thing. As he pulled out the pistol shaped object, the grey haired boy raised an eyebrow.

"Is that your weapon? A gun? That's pretty bland man," The other boy sneered.

When he lifted the evoker up and placed it at the side of his temple, the other boy's eyes widened.

"Hey, what're you-"

He didn't let the boy finish the sentence as he pulled the trigger. A familiar feeling ran through his head as the sound of shattering glass rang through the air. And then, he felt the power. It rushed through him and from deep within the confines of his soul, it manifested itself into reality.

The white bone like face came first. Then, the human sized coffins that surrounded the figure like a shield. The rest of its body soon followed suit, slowly manifesting itself into reality as well. It hadn't made a sound during the entire process. Unlike the first time where it burst into existence, this time like a creeping death, it slowly and quietly arrived.

Thanatos let out a low growl as it floated protectively in front of him. The menacing looking blade that it held in it's hand would make sure that no harm would come to it's master.


	2. Chapter 2: The Fool

**Chapter 2-**

 **The Fool**

* * *

He flexed the muscles in his freshly healed arm once more.

The injury had been remedied through the use of a healing spell and whatever pain that had lingered before was now nothing more than a distant memory. He balled his hand into a fist and allowed the fingers to expand and contract a few more times. Satisfied with the result, he turned his attention back towards Tukson.

The older man had a strained look on his face as he continued to pack whatever belongings he could fit into a small suitcase. Tukson had not planned on leaving until the end of the week, but after what had recently transpired, the older man decided to have a change in plans.

"Minato, you should've run when you had the chance," Tukson grimly said as he zipped the suitcase shut, "By getting yourself involved, you've only made yourself into another target."

"I will be fine," He calmly replied.

Tukson sighed, "You don't understand. The White Fang, they've probably marked you now. If you stay here, in the city, they'll hunt you down."

He didn't say anything in response. Instead, he stood up and dusted off his blazer.

"Minato," Tukson continued, "When they find you, they will _kill_ you."

"I will be fine," He repeated.

"Look, you're strong Minato, I get that. But the White Fang are not a group that you can take lightly," Tukson stressed out, "Trust me on this. I know from personal experience."

This time, it was his turn to sigh. Tukson was a good person, the man was merely worried about his well-being. He just wished that the older man would have some faith in him.

"Tukson," He firmly began, "I will be fine. You don't need to worry so much."

Some would call this overconfidence, but for him, it was simply the truth. The White Fang could not kill him. He had long moved beyond the realm of human mortality after Igor had crafted the Universe Arcana for him. As long as the Universe resided in him, he could no longer be felled by conventional means.

Tukson's features tightened as the older man seemed to quietly regard him. Eventually, Tukson broke the silence with a heavy sigh.

"Alright then, but don't say I didn't warn you."

He gave a wry smile.

"You are leaving tonight?"

"Yeah," Tukson nodded, "After what happened? The quicker I get out of town, the better."

"I see."

The older man had an awkward smile on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Take care of yourself Minato," Tukson eventually managed to say, before holding out his hand.

He grasped the outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Farewell, Tukson."

And with that, he stuffed his hands back into his pockets and walked out of the store.

It was a shame that would be the last time he would ever go back to Tukson's Book Trade. But, at the very least, the man himself would no longer be in harm's way. As the night air whipped against his face, he couldn't help but shiver.

He would've worn more than just his blazer had he known that he would've been out this late. The attempt on Tukson's life had been an unexpected event. It was fortunate for the older man that he had decided to stop by when he did. Had he not, he feared that Tukson wouldn't have been long for this world.

The two attackers, they were skilled. He took out his left arm and glanced at it once more. The grey haired one had possessed quite the kick. The way he had fought was quite the sight to behold.

Though, it had been the green haired one that had managed to surprise him the most.

* * *

What had once been a smug look and a cocky swagger had been quickly replaced by a more serious approach. Instead of continuing his assault, the grey haired one had now opted to keep his distance and observe, a stark contrast to his earlier behavior.

Instead of recklessly charging into the unknown, the grey haired one seemed to prefer to take a more strategic approach to things. He could respect that, as he would've done the same in his situation.

For a moment, nobody in the room seemed to breathe, much less move. Even the fight between Tukson and the green haired one had come to an abrupt stop. The ill aura that seemed to radiate from the god of death tended to have that effect on people.

In the end, he had been the one to break the respite.

"Attack."

It was a simple command, but it was a command that held the weight of something much more. After a brief second, Thanatos let out a glass shattering howl and charged forward.

To his credit, the boy had handled Thanatos's relentless assault about as well as one could hope for. There was no panic or fear in his movements, the cold steel in his eyes only seemed to validate that fact. It was the look of one whose entire life had been spent walking with death.

The skill that the grey haired one demonstrated as he beat back the death god's blows with his metallic boots was impressive to see. It was skill that must've taken years and years' worth of time to hone.

Yet in the end, no matter how skilled or how hard one fought. A mere mortal could only hold death back for so long. It was only a matter of time.

Mistakes were things that were engraved into human nature. The grey haired boy made his mistake when he switched to the offensive. He was confident in his skill, in his ability to read his opponent. It was this confidence that became his undoing, for death could not be beaten through conventional means.

When the steel plated boot smashed into the bone like helm of the death god, denting it in, the boy thought he had won.

He was wrong.

Thanatos grabbed at the outstretched limb, it's long white arm grasping the leg tightly. The god of death then lifted it's sword into the air, and in one swift movement, brought the blade down.

"Mercury!" The green one screamed.

He was not surprised that the boy's limb was an artificial one. The power behind that leg was not something that felt natural. When Thanatos raised its blade once more, the girl tossed Tukson out of the way and ran straight at the god of death himself.

He did not miss how her eyes had begun to glow an eerie red.

Rushing at the god of death was not a good move. Thanatos easily knocked the sickles out of her hand. The pale limb shot out once more, and grasped at the green haired one's neck.

In a deliberately slow motion, Thanatos lifted her up into the air. The god of death seemed to be almost delighted as it slowly choked the life out of the girl, greedily savoring the moment.

Just when he was about to order Thanatos to release the girl, she simply disappeared. Vanished, right from within the death's gods grip. He quickly glanced down at the floor and saw that the grey haired one had vanished as well, the decapitated limb lying on the floor served as the only evidence that he was ever there in the first place.

A multitude of different possibilities ran through his head.

He never had the chance to go through any of them though, as the sound of the door flying open caught his attention. He managed to catch a glimpse of the green haired one running out the store with her injured companion in tow.

An illusion perhaps?

Thanatos had moved to make chase, but he quickly dismissed it, sending the death god back into the sea of souls. It obeyed, but did so begrudgingly. He had no reason to chase after them, Tukson was safe and they had failed.

"W-what happened?" Tukson managed to utter out, "How did they just… vanish?"

He shrugged.

He had theories, but nothing concrete. The green haired one had done something, but what exactly, he did not know.

Tukson let out a deep breath.

"Didn't think they would send people after me already," The older man muttered, "Oh, and why didn't you tell me that you were a huntsman Minato? I wouldn't have acted like an idiot and tried to play the hero if I knew you could handle yourself."

"Because I am not," He replied simply.

Tukson raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"But, wasn't that… Summon... Your semblance?"

He shook his head, "It was a Persona."

"A Persona…?" Tukson asked with confusion evident in his voice, "What's that?"

"A manifestation of the soul," He simply stated.

"So… A semblance then?"

He shook his head once more. He had heard about them, the huntsmen of the world. Of how they were able to perform incredible feats with the power of their souls, of their Aura. A Persona was similar in the way that it drew power from the soul as well, but the similarities ended there.

"Well, whatever it was, it saved my life. You have my thanks for that," Tukson said as he scratched the back of his head, "I'm guessing that you want to know what that was all about, huh?"

He simply nodded in response.

"It's a long story," The older man sighed, "One filled with mistakes and regrets."

Tukson took a deep breath and began his tale.

The White Fang had once been a peaceful group. The organization had once been a beacon of hope instead of a representation of violence. What had once been peaceful protests and rallies had morphed into petty criminal acts of vengeance.

Tukson, the man himself, had been a part of the group; he had joined while they were still a peaceful organization. Tukson was merely another Faunus that wanted to make a difference, merely another person that was tired of discrimination and somebody that wanted to take a stand. The White Fang at the time was filled with others like himself.

Tukson did not regret joining the White Fang. He regretted that he did not leave the group sooner after the new leadership had taken over, after the original goal had been replaced. He regretted taking part in the senseless acts of violence, and he regretted taking satisfaction in the fact that the violence was actually working. People had actually started to treat the Faunus better, but it wasn't out of respect or equality, it was out of fear.

It had been a mistake, a mistake that to this day, that he was still ashamed of. The newest leader of the White Fang was a ruthless man that held little regard for the lives of the innocent. Adam Taurus was a man that had become twisted in his quest to fulfill his ambition.

Tukson had no longer wanted any part of the White Fang after he had borne witness to the extent of what Adam was willing to go through in order to further his goals. What had once been petty acts of crime had evolved into full blown acts of terrorism. Their once peaceful group had now morphed into a ragtag bunch of terrorists.

"And that's my story," Tukson murmured as his shoulders sagged, "If you no longer want anything to do with me, I completely understand."

He did not immediately respond, instead he took a moment to briefly consider his words.

"Your past does not define who you are," He finally began, "Nor does it change who you are today. To me, you are still Tukson, the owner of Tukson's Book Trade," He allowed a small smile to grace his face, "And, you are still a friend."

"Even if I'm a Faunus?" Tukson let his claws grow out, "Even if I'm a former White Fang member?"

He simply nodded.

"You're a good person Minato. If only everyone else were like you…" Tukson trailed off, "Perhaps then, the relationship between the Faunus and the Humans would have never become this strained."

He did not know what to say to that, so he kept his silence and instead, began to pick up the fallen books that lay scattered across the store after the battle.

* * *

He was surprised when Neopolitan had walked into the café.

When she had taken a seat at her usual table, he raised an eyebrow as he passed the little plastic menu to her. Today was not one of the days that Neopolitan would usually come to the café. The petite girl simply shrugged as she took the menu from him before pointing at a picture of a parfait. It was one of the usual treats that the girl would ask for.

He scribbled down the order into his notepad before taking the menu back.

After a brief moment, he returned with a multi-layered parfait in hand. The girl had a grin on her face as he set the frozen desert onto the table in front of her. When he turned around and was about to make his way back into the kitchen, he felt a small tug on the back of his apron.

When he turned around with a raised eyebrow, the girl tilted her head towards the empty chair across from her.

He frowned, "I am still on shift."

She gave him a look.

He stared back. When it became apparent that the girl was not going to let up on the matter or release her hold on his apron either, he sighed.

"Fine, I'll be right back."

The girl gave an innocent smile before finally letting go. He wanted to roll his eyes as he went to look for his boss.

He found Charlotte at the front of the cash register, organizing all of the newly acquired Lien.

"Charlotte," He began, "Is it fine if I take my break now?"

The blonde haired women lifted her eyes up from her task and took a quick look around the café. After a brief moment, she nodded her head.

"Yeah, it should be fine," She replied before giving a sly grin, "There aren't that many people here right now, so you can take 30 and talk with your little girlfriend."

He didn't bother trying to correct her. When Charlotte had gotten something into her head, it was nearly impossible to sway her thoughts on the matter. Instead, he simply nodded and made his way back over towards Neopolitan.

The petite girl had already finished half of her parfait by the time he had made it back. She gave him a dainty little wave as he took a seat in the chair across from her. As he watched the girl finish her frozen treat, he couldn't help but wonder how she could eat so much but still be so small. But then again, Junpei and Akihiko had always wondered the same thing about himself.

After Neopolitan had finished the last of her frozen desert, she finally gave him her full undivided attention. They stared at each other in silence for a while before Neopolitan finally made a small gesture with her hands.

" _You shouldn't have gotten involved with Tukson and the White Fang."_

He was surprised, but he did not allow it to show on his face.

"How did you know about that?"

She brought a glove covered finger up and held it in front of her lips.

" _That's a secret."_

He frowned, but didn't say anything in response. So, Neopolitan was in some way involved with the White Fang. He wasn't sure what to make of that new tidbit of information.

" _They are going to come after you soon."_

She leaned forward over the table until their faces were only inches apart. Her breath smelled of the sweets that she so frequently partook in.

" _And when they do, they are going to kill you. What are you going to do about that?"_

"Nothing," He simply replied.

Neopolitan frowned.

" _Nothing? So, you are just going to die?"_

She did not understand, so he made it more clear for her.

"No, I will not die."

She raised an eyebrow.

" _And why is that?"_

"Because, they will not succeed in their goal."

Neopolitan blinked. And then she made a face, a face that he did not think it was possible for her to make. It was a dangerous grin; one could describe it as being almost bloodthirsty even.

" _That's a good answer. I hope that it'll prove to be true. It would be a shame if you were to perish; I've grown rather fond of your parfaits."_

He couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. In the end, it always came back to sweets with her. He wasn't sure if she had come to warn him because she considered him to be a friend or because he was a good source of frozen treats.

Though, if he had to guess, it would probably be the latter.

* * *

When his scroll had started to ring in the middle of the night, he thought about ignoring it and going back to sleep. When it rang for a second time, he sighed and forced himself up. When it rang for the third time, he brought the electronic device to his ear and hit the call button.

"…Hello?"

"…Minato Arisato?"

It was a gravelly voice, but more importantly, it was a voice that he did not recognize.

"Yes?" He softly answered.

"Come to the docks, unarmed," The rough voice said.

The call then quickly dropped before he could ask any questions. He stared at the empty screen of his scroll and briefly wondered if he should simply go back to bed. The caller was more than likely a member of the White Fang. He had been expecting them to make their move soon. But, if they had assumed that he would go to them, and more importantly, go out to the freezing docks at this time of night, then they were fools.

When his scroll rang again as he was about to get back into bed, he frowned. Instead of another call, it was a text message this time. When he opened the message, he was a greeted with a familiar face.

The face of his boss with a dangerous looking machete held in the vicinity of her exposed neck.

That changed things. He had expected them to send assassins like they had with Tukson. In retrospect, he supposed that he should have seen something like this coming. It seemed that Tukson was right when he had said that the new leader of the White Fang did not hold the lives of innocent people in very high regard.

Since they had Charlotte, that didn't leave him with much of a choice in the matter.

He opened his closet and pulled out a jacket as well as a scarf. The docks could get quite chilly at this time of night after all. He pulled out his evoker and left it on his bedside table. While he didn't exactly need the evoker to summon his Persona anymore, it definitely made the job easier.

When he opened the door of his apartment and the cold night air whipped against his face, he immediately regretted the action. Ever since that incident at the hot springs with Mitsuru, he and the cold had never mixed well.

He shivered as he locked the door, though whether it was from the cold night air or from the thought of that horrifying punishment from Mitsuru, he wasn't sure.

Shaking his head, he let out a small sigh before trudging out into the night. The shattered moon that hung in the night sky serving as his only source of illumination.

He had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.

* * *

Author's Note: You know, I actually didn't plan on starting the newest chapter this quickly, but with all the positive responses that I've been getting, how could I not? I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews and support, I hope that this chapter being released a little bit early is a good enough thank you gift.

To the guest that was wondering how this Minato would be different from my other story. Well, the Minato from my other story was based off of his character from the beginning of Persona 3, while in this one, he is based off his character from the end of it. There are some very stark differences between the two as he goes through a lot of character development throughout the story of P3.

That's all I have to say. I'll you all in the next chapter, until then~

-SFX


	3. Chapter 3: The End of Peaceful Days

**Chapter 3-**

 **The End of Peaceful Days**

* * *

He could say with the utmost confidence, that in the past year, he had been at peace. After what had seemed to be an eternity acting as the seal, the peaceful life that he had been able to live on this world was one that he had thoroughly enjoyed. And while he missed his friends, the simple fact that he was able to see, hear, and _feel_ once more; that had helped ease the pain.

He did not want to get involved. He could have simply listened to Tukson and walked away. Escaping from the assassins would have been a simple task. He did not want to get involved, but he could not leave Tukson to die, his conscience would never allow it.

He did not regret saving Tukson. It was a choice that he had made, and he would pay the consequences. He had learned long ago that everything in the world had a price, that every action and every choice would have its own ramifications.

When he finally made it to the docks, he was met with the barrel points of various pistols and rifles. Being the center of attention was never a feeling that he particularly enjoyed. Neither was being on the receiving end of a shower of bullets.

The masks of the White Fang seemed to almost glow as the moonlight from the night sky reflected off them. He could not help but think of how similar their white masks were to the ones that the Shadows had worn long ago. Not so much in shape or design, but in the way they both seemed to radiate an ominous feeling, a feeling that one related to monsters and their ilk.

"Where is Charlotte?"

They did not immediately answer him, their weapons still trained against his figure. For a minute, nobody moved, much less speak. The atmosphere was tense, and the cold night air did little to help the situation.

Eventually, one of the masked Faunus, one with a pair of tusks, finally growled out an order.

"Get her out here."

After a brief moment, and the sounds of a struggle, a pair of White Fang members emerged from behind a shipping container. A struggling and bound Charlotte was dragged along the way.

"Minato!" Charlotte yelled as she struggled against her bindings, "Whatever they say, don't listen to them!"

"Quiet woman," The tusked Faunus bit out.

"Is this what the White Fang has resorted to?" Charlotte asked with clear disdain evident in her voice, "Kidnapping shopkeepers and threatening kids?"

"What would you know of our cause human? What would you know of us?" The man venomously spat out, "Gag her, I'm tired of hearing her annoying voice."

The two White Fang members at her side nodded and taped her mouth shut. Charlotte just glared and continued to struggle in defiance.

"What is it that you want?" He softly asked.

"It's not about what I want," The tusked Faunus cryptically let out, "It's about what the White Fang wants."

He remained quiet, prompting the masked man to continue.

"Tukson was a traitor and deserved death. You prevented that and helped him escape. You'll die in his stead instead."

The Faunus paused once more, to let the words sink in. It was a tactic used to inspire fear. It was also one that didn't work.

"You will die. But, not here and not by my hand."

He was surprised at this, but did not let it show on his face.

"The White Fang will have its due justice," The tusked Faunus growled once more, "You will come with us."

The muffled sounds coming from Charlotte grew louder.

"And… If I go with you," He slowly began, "You will let her go?"

The masked man let out a dark chuckle.

"It's more like if you come with us, we won't kill her on the spot."

He frowned.

"She has nothing to do with this," He pointed out.

"And neither did you when you decided to play the hero and save that traitor," The Faunus countered, "Enough stalling. You either cooperate or the woman dies. So, what'll it be hero?"

He let the silence hang in the air for a moment as he considered his options. There were not many of them, but if he were to try and subdue them, Charlotte's life would be put at risk.

That was a risk that he was simply unwilling to take. He valued the lives of his friends far too much for that. He'd go along with whatever their plans were and bide his time until an opportunity presented itself.

"I'll cooperate."

The gag did little to hide the muffled noises of disapproval that came from Charlotte. She wasn't happy with his decision, but an unhappy Charlotte was far better than a potentially dead one.

* * *

After they had checked him for weapons and found nothing, they bound his arms. While it hindered him physically, it would not affect his ability to draw forth from the Sea of Souls if need be. Though, attempting to summon a Persona without the aid of an evoker was a burdensome task and placed a great stress on the psyche of the individual. He'd rather avoid having to resort to that if possible, but with the situation as it is, it seemed that he wouldn't be left with much of a choice.

The car they were in soon came to a rather abrupt stop.

It was a part of the city that he did not recognize. The rundown buildings did not paint the area in a very good light. It appeared to be the rough part of the town, similar in a way to the area that was behind Port Island Station.

They ushered him along with his boss into a large warehouse. Inside, he was met with the sight of a dozen different types of Faunus, all donning the uniform of the White Fang. There were people with horns, claws, fangs, and even antlers. He had never seen this many Faunus before.

They all appeared to be working on one thing or another. A couple of huge bulky machines in the corner of the building caught his eye. They appeared to be mechanized suits of some kind, like war machines straight out of a science fiction novel.

He couldn't help but stare in fascination.

A sharp shove knocked him out of his stupor. They steered him away from the crowd and towards one of the back rooms. As he walked past the small crowd of Faunus gathered in front of what appeared to be a makeshift stage, he didn't miss the familiar sight of pink and brown hair.

Neopolitan stared back with her parasol resting over her shoulder. He knew that she was involved with the White Fang in one way or another, but he wasn't expecting her to actually be part of the group.

Her orange haired companion stood next to her and stared at him with an unreadable expression. It didn't really come as a surprise that the bowler hat wearing man was involved as well, not after seeing Neopolitan here.

Another sharp shove from the back kept him moving along. Eventually, they were brought before one of the rooms in the back and quickly ushered inside.

It was a dimly lit room with not much furnishing to speak of. A couple of chairs and a single old wooden table stood in the middle of the room. The three men that were gathered around the table in comparison were a lot more noteworthy.

They donned the same uniforms as the White Fang, but the masks that these men wore were different from the rest of their peers. Rather than an unblemished canvas, their masks all held intricate designs that served to distinguish them from the rest. The primal streaks of red stood out in stark contrast to the white surfaces of their masks.

It was the large bulky one in the middle that moved first. For how large his frame was, he was surprised at how quiet his steps could be.

"So, you are the one that saved the traitor."

It was a deep voice, one with a rather distinct accent that he couldn't exactly point out. Even through the mask, he could feel the hulking man's gaze, as if he was measuring his worth.

"I expected more from the one that stopped that bitch's pawns."

He gave the man an impassive look.

"You are the leader of the White Fang then?"

"No," The masked man growled, "You'll meet him soon enough and when that time comes, you will regret ever crossing the White Fang."

He had been hoping to meet the leader of the White Fang and see if he truly was the monster that Tukson had described. It was a pity that the man was not here.

"Toss him into the back," The large man barked, "We'll take care of him after the rally."

"And the woman, Lieutenant?" The tusked man behind him asked.

He could see the Lieutenant's mask tilt towards Charlotte's direction and his boss defiantly glare back. He could feel his shoulders begin to tense.

"Throw her in there with him. We don't have time to deal with them now; we still have to set up for the rally."

He almost let out a sigh of relief, but managed to reel it in at the last second. The tension in his body began to slowly dissipate. He had been ready to draw from the Sea of Souls had the Lieutenant put Charlotte's life at risk.

Thankfully, the White Fang Lieutenant had not forced his hand.

* * *

She assumed that he would've lived up to her expectations. Mercury was an annoying loudmouth, but he had the skills to back up his talk. For someone that had managed to knock the assassin out of commission, she had expected him to easily destroy whatever pawns the White Fang threw his way. As for the actual outcome though…

Neopolitan was disappointed to say the least.

"Wow, don't tell me," Roman casually bantered, knocking her out of her stupor, "You're actually in a bad mood because that kid got captured, aren't you?"

She simply shrugged.

"Well, can't say I blame you. Anyone that puts Cinder's brats in their place gets high marks from me," Roman smirked mischievously, "Now that little punk's a real cripple. It's a pity that the kid couldn't lop off his other leg as well."

Neopolitan couldn't help but nod in agreement. She and Roman held no love for Cinder and her pawns. Cinder had need of their services and she paid well enough. But, at the end of the day, they were simply business partners and nothing more.

Though, it wasn't as if they had much of a choice in the matter. When Cinder Fall wanted your services, you gave them to her if you valued your lives. The White Fang were no different from them in that regard.

"How'd a bunch of mutts manage to get the kid anyway?" Her orange haired partner asked.

" _Through a hostage."_

She had recognized the woman that the White Fang brought in with him as the owner of the café that she enjoyed spending her spare time at.

"A hostage?" Roman scoffed, "That was all it took? What a let-down. So, he's one of _those_ types."

Once more, she couldn't help but find herself agreeing with her orange haired colleague.

Minato had been a disappointment. He had been such the interesting character too. She had happened upon that little café and those delectable delicacies they served by chance. The blue haired waiter himself, had been a pleasant surprise, for it was not often that Neopolitan found others that she could tolerate. He was as much as an enigma to her as she was to others, a puzzle that she wanted to crack.

And when she had heard about what had happened to Cinder's pawns, of what that pale blue haired boy had done?

Her fascination with him only grew. For while Roman was cold, and sought to be in the center of attention, like a nicely served bowl of Gelato. Minato emitted a feeling of warmth, and preferred to blend into the background, like a modest cup of freshly brewed Hot Chocolate.

A pair of two complete polar opposites, that when pushed to the limit, would rise up in a way like no other.

While one would provide a snark and cynical view of the world for what it was, the other would give a warm and more optimistic outlook. The way they contrasted one another, with the two of them, she had been able to experience the best of both worlds. For while Roman represented her bloody present, Minato had represented her past, of a more peaceful time.

Of a past that had been quickly snuffed out by the harsh, ugly reality of this world.

It was a pity. She had even gone out of her way to drop him a warning too.

"Well, you know how it is," Roman quietly said as he lit up a cigar, "This is how things work in the real world. But, regardless of what happens, we'll keep doing what we do best."

She found herself beginning to break into a sly smile. Even the coldest of treats could be sweet. In the end, while others may come and go, Roman would always be by her side.

" _Lie."_

Roman smirked as well.

"Steal."

" _Cheat."_

"And survive," Roman completed, before scowling at the growing crowd, "Looks like the rest of these animals finally decided to show up."

" _Time to get the show on the road?"_

"Oh yeah," Roman chuckled as he snuffed out his cigar, "And it looks like our star for the night's going to be yours truly."

She couldn't help but playfully roll her eyes at Roman's theatrics.

As the rally finally started to commence and the Lieutenant began his speech, she found herself glancing over towards that room again. The room that currently housed one of the few individuals in the world that had managed to catch her interest.

It was truly a pity that she wouldn't be able to partake in anymore of his culinary treats.

* * *

Once more, he found himself taking a glance at the two guards that stood by the door. They stood alert and ready as their semi-automatic rifles rested on their shoulders.

Once more, he found himself debating whether or not he could take them both down without having to resort to a summon. He was no slouch in combat; he had fought through the hundred plus floors of Tartarus along with SEES. Yet, after the confrontation with the assassins, he could not deny that he had gotten sloppy in his time of peace.

Perhaps if he were alone, he would have succeeded. But, with Charlotte at his side, the idea was out of the question. The woman sat to his right, silently glowering at the two guards by the door. Charlotte was a prideful woman, and despite her fearless front, she was probably quite shell-shocked by what had happened.

Another round of loud cheering erupted from outside the room and he found himself wondering what the commotion was about. He knew that the White Fang were holding a rally of some kind, but why the mechanized suits? Were the White Fang truly planning to wage war against humanity?

And then there was Neopolitan. Why was Neopolitan working with the White Fang? And if she was, why did she go out of her way to warn him?

Whatever other thoughts he had on the matter were quickly placed aside as the cheers coming from the outside had begun to subside. The rally seemed to be nearing its end and with it, whatever time he had left.

He couldn't help but softly sigh. In the end, he would have to draw forth from the Sea of Souls once more. It would truly be the end of his peaceful days.

He closed his eyes.

The summoning of a Persona required the individual to be placed under a state of great stress. The Evoker was designed in the form of a pistol solely for this purpose. The actual tool itself was nothing out of the ordinary; it was the Plume of Dusk that resided inside the Evoker that acted as the medium for the summoning.

The Plume of Dusk was not a requirement for a summoning; it merely served as an aid. Thus, it was possible to summon a Persona without the aid of an Evoker. One simply had to find a way to provoke a great enough feeling of stress upon one's self.

He had one such way.

It was a memory, of a time long past. It was an experience that for a long time, defined who he was. It was a recollection that, until he had met SEES, had dictated his entire life.

It was a windy night on the bridge. The memory was vague, but the feeling of terror it inspired was not.

And it was with this terror and the stress that it provoked that allowed him to draw forth from the Sea of Souls.

And yet, even then, with the prerequisites met, he was limited in his choices. He was limited in the Personas that he was able to manifest from his soul. The least taxing of the few was the one that had been by his side from the very beginning. It was also the one that had been by his side until the very end.

It was the one that defined his very soul.

* * *

It was the lyre and its familiar tune that came first.

" _Thou art I… And I am Thou."_

A fitting introduction, for it was as much a part of his soul as his soul was a part of it.

" _From the sea of thy soul I cometh."_

The rest of its mechanical-like body came next.

" _I am Orpheus, master of strings."_

He slowly opened his eyes and allowed a small smile to grace his face.

The power of the Wild Card might have allowed him to house many a Persona in his soul, but none could match the simple feeling of comfort that Orpheus could bring.

For like the rest of SEES and their Persona counterparts, Orpheus would always be _his_ Persona and _only_ his.

* * *

Blake couldn't help but feel a sense of dread start to build up from within the pits of her stomach. It was a troubling feeling, and when Torchwick had revealed the hulking mechanical monstrosity that stood dormant under those pitch black sheets, the feeling only proliferated.

"That's… a big robot," Sun all but whispered.

"How… did he get that?" She wondered aloud.

Her question was quickly answered as Torchwick continued on with his speech. Of course the thief had stolen it; she was a fool for not figuring that out. The real question was how? Atlas security was top notch; she knew that from personal experience.

Whoever Torchwick's "employer" was, that was the same person that was apparently backing the White Fang's new operations. It was the same person that was now backing Adam.

Adam. To think that a name that once brought her such warmth could now bring nothing but apprehension and fear. State of the art Atlas weaponry, large scale Dust robberies, and working with humans like Roman Torchwick. Just what in the world was Adam planning?

Or was Adam the one even pulling the strings in the end? This wasn't his style. She could never imagine Adam working with any human, let alone one like Roman Torchwick.

Any other thoughts she had on the subject came to an abrupt end as the gears in her brain screeched to a grinding halt. Torchwick had finished his speech and was looking straight at them.

"Sun," Blake quickly whispered, "We need to get out of here."

"Yeah…" Sun began, "Uh, how are we going to do that?"

She racked her brain for ideas as she scanned the room, looking for any way out. When her eyes landed on the warehouses power grid, an idea popped up.

In one slick motion, she drew out Gambol Shroud and took aim. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, a loud explosion rocked the warehouse, sending much of the crowd, including herself, to the floor.

And from the now destroyed walls near the end of the building, walked out a boy. A pale, blue haired, _human_ boy. A _human_ boy that casually walked into a room filled to capacity with members of one the most dangerous organizations on the planet.

A room filled with people that _hated_ humans _._

For a moment, there was silence. The attention of everybody in the building was rooted firmly on the unexpected visitor. Even Torchwick had appeared to have forgotten about her and looked on in bewilderment.

The next couple of seconds that ticked by felt like some of the longest seconds that she had ever experienced in her life.

What had broken everyone out of their stupor wasn't the sound of falling debris from the now destroyed wall or broken glass from the newly shattered windows. It was laughter. It was a soft, quiet laugh that one had to almost strain their ears to hear.

It was a laugh that came from a girl that Blake hadn't even realized was there until now. A short girl, even shorter than Ruby, with multi-colored hair that stood off at the very end of the makeshift stage.

It was laughter that served as the spark that brought everyone back from their daze.

And then, there was chaos.

* * *

"Kill him!"

Roman had heard the Lieutenant, but he didn't move from his spot. For no matter _what_ Cinder had said, he would _never_ take orders from the likes of the White Fang. From the likes of a bunch of animals that probably couldn't even tie their own damn shoelaces together.

He'd never understand why that woman had chosen to align herself with the likes of the White Fang. They might have needed manpower, but most of these mooks couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with automatic rifles, much less pilot a Paladin.

Though, he supposed there was that old saying, power in numbers and all that jazz. And if there was one thing that these incompetent animals could provide, it was numbers.

Roman couldn't help but wince as he watched one of his newly _acquired_ Paladins get smashed in by what appeared to be a flying robot with a harp.

A harp.

As if he hadn't seen enough strange shit already, the flying robot started to glow. Crimson red eyes began to shine with an otherworldly hue as an explosion of white hot flames sent another Paladin flying into a nearby wall.

These kids just kept getting weirder and weirder. First, it was the crazy girl at the docks that destroyed half of their airships, along with all the Dust that he had managed to _acquire_ from the Schnee Dust Company. And now, there was a flying robot bashing _his_ things in with an oversized harp.

How _lovely_.

Now, let it be known that while Roman Torchwick was a gambling man, he didn't play the game unless the odds were stacked in his favor. But, even then, there were just some risks that he would _never_ take. It was why he found himself having to put up with Cinder's brats, and working with the bunch of animals that were the White Fang.

Not giving Cinder Fall what she wanted was one of those risks.

And facing off against something could take out three state of the art Atlas Paladins just happened to be another one of those risks.

So, when a stray bullet buzzed past him and almost knocked his hat off his head, he glanced over towards his long time accomplice. The sly grin on her face suggested that the girl was enjoying the _show_ a lot more than he was. No doubt because of a certain café waiter that now, _surely_ had the attention of every single player in the game.

The kid was a wild card, and Roman _hated_ wild cards. Wild cards made the game inherently more risky,and in a game where the stakes were at an all time high, extra unnecessary risk was something he could very much go without. After all, with higher risk, came a higher chance of him losing his neck. His neck was something that he would _very_ much like to keep attached to his body.

"Neo, get us out of here."

* * *

Author's Notes: Hello everyone, it's been a while since the last update. I've taken people's advice to heart and have been trying to focus more on quality than quantity. Hopefully, it was worth the wait?

To the guest wondering how Minato can understand Neo. Well, Minato has always been rather adept at reading people, and Neo has always been good at expressing her intentions through body language. That, and it was a bit of a joke and a play on how Minato can act like a mute himself. As for Merc and Em, Em got him by surprise, that's all. Semblances come from the soul, as do Personas, so it shouldn't be too far fetched to say one can affect the other.

I'd like to thank Croniklerx for helping me out with this chapter as well. Oh, and of course all of you readers for the love and support. I guess that's all I have to say, I'll see you all next chapter~

-SFX


	4. Chapter 4: A Cold Wind

**Chapter 4-**

 **A Cold Wind**

* * *

He had not expected there to be this many people.

It was an uncomfortable feeling to be the center of attention of such a large crowd. It was a feeling that he was unused to, and one that he did not particularly enjoy. He wasn't sure what to expect, but the complete and utter silence had been a surprise. It unnerved him, to have so many pairs of eyes stare at him in complete speechlessness.

Thankfully, Neopolitan's laughter had served as a quick fix to that issue.

Now, the only problem was that it seemed everybody in the building wanted his head on a platter. He let an amused smile grace his face. At the very least, that was something that he had experience in dealing with.

A swarm of bullets flew towards him, only to harmlessly bounce off Orpheus' metallic body as the master of strings hovered protectively in front of him. Kinetic weapons had little to no effect on Personas and the White Fang seemed to soon realize this as they stopped firing.

When a few of their members had started to activate those huge mechanized suits, he frowned. While Orpheus could hold its own against those machines, he could not; not without a proper weapon at least. He would have to leave those mechanical menaces to Orpheus and handle the rest of the foot soldiers himself.

That was a daunting task in its own right as the White Fang easily numbered in the dozens. While he was used to fighting against the odds, it was never alone. Where he once had a vanguard of Aigis and Akihiko, along with the support of Yukari, there was now simply empty space.

A sad reminder of a time that he dearly missed.

As the mechanized suits began to move, the gears in their mechanical limbs slowly whirling to life, Orpheus surged forward. With a mighty swing from its lyre, the Persona smashed the machine in, leaving a large dent in its aftermath. A large metal fist shot towards the master of strings, but Orpheus easily dodged the attack as it zigged and zagged through the air.

As massive and heavily armored as those machines were, they possessed a surprising amount of agility, a testament to the skill of the engineers that had manufactured them. Nonetheless, as agile as they were, Orpheus was even more so, with the master of strings dodging another from a large mechanical claw.

He turned his attention away from the battle of giants and back towards the group of White Fang members that had now begun to slowly surround him. Wickedly sharp blades that ranged from scimitars to longswords all slowly began to creep closer and closer. He was not very skilled in hand to hand combat so he would have to rely on his spells, for Orpheus could not assist him while it was fending off the large mechanized suits of armor.

 _Mabufu._

Great pillars of ice erupted from the ground, engulfing all who were unlucky enough to be nearby as the temperature in the building took a quick nosedive. It was a simple spell, but it served its purpose well enough. It had whittled away at their numbers and those that hadn't been encased in ice were beginning to have second thoughts about continuing their attack.

He brought his hand up to the side of his head as a sharp pain began to ring throughout his skull. Having to maintain Orpheus' form without his Evoker was beginning to take its toll on his psyche. The chaotic noises that continued to echo throughout the building did little to help his case. Whatever White Fang soldiers that still had their will took this chance and charged forward. He couldn't help but grimace as he attempted to ignore his raging headache and braced himself for the onslaught.

He could tell from their clumsy strikes that they were as inexperienced as they were untrained. Yet, in his disorientated state, it was a struggle to even simply dodge. Most of their numbers were encased in blocks of ice, so he only had to finish the few stragglers off and be done with it all.

If only it were that easy.

A wickedly curved scimitar went straight for his neck. In the last moment, he ducked, narrowly dodging the swing by a hairs width, and in one smooth motion he swung his leg out, knocking the White Fang grunt onto his back.

Another overhead swing forced him to quickly roll out of the way. This time, instead of a scimitar, it was a broadsword. That played to his favor, as the bigger the weapon, the slower the attacks, and the easier it was for him to dodge.

"Enough," A familiar voice growled, "He's mine."

The loud ear-splitting sound of a revving chainsaw was the first thing that caught his attention. The hulking White Fang Lieutenant from before now appeared to be brandishing a menacing looking chainsaw.

And he was running straight at him.

If Mercury's kick had shattered his arm, he didn't even want to imagine what taking a hit from the White Fang Lieutenant would feel like.

He didn't plan on finding out.

* * *

The mammoth of a man raged forward and swung the menacing looking weapon with ease. He dodged left and right, taking great care to stay out of the Lieutenant's range. Against a heavy hitter like the man in front of him, one small misstep could prove to be devastating.

At the very least, the massive sawblade's swings were wide and predictable. Compared to the silver haired assassin, the White Fang Lieutenant's attacks were much slower and a lot easier to dodge. Although, from the way the giant of a man managed to swing the weapon one handed with almost childlike ease, whatever he lacked in speed he probably made up for in strength.

"You can't run forever," The Lieutenant snarled.

The man was right, he could not. His stamina was not what it had once been in the past, when he scaled the treacherous floors of Tartarus along with the rest of SEES. The ringing in his head had not gotten much better either.

The White Fang Lieutenant charged forward once more.

 _Bufu_.

A single pillar of ice stopped the man in his tracks. It burst from the ground and spread from his legs to the rest of his body, encasing him in a solid block of frost. Like a man frozen in time, the Lieutenant stood with his sawblade mid-swing.

And then, the ice began to crack.

Slowly, but surely, tiny little cracks began to spread throughout the surface of the block. They were insignificant on their own, but together, the tiny cracks began to split off into long running crevices. Crevices that soon morphed into large fissures that threatened to fracture the frosted block in two.

And then, it shattered.

It shattered into a thousand little pieces. He lifted his arm and shielded his eyes as tiny little fragments of ice scattered across the room. The block of ice was no more, and what had once been a man frozen in place, was now a raging bull that was making a beeline straight for him.

He ducked, narrowly avoiding the sawblade's swing. Only to be met with the Lieutenant's steel-toed boot. The kick sent him flying into a nearby crate, splintering it into pieces.

He let out a shuddered breath as he slowly forced himself up. The sudden spike of pain from his ribs caused him to wince. He muttered a quick healing spell. After a small flash of light, he could feel the broken bones begin to mend while the torn flesh started to knit itself back together.

It was too bad that the spell couldn't help with the ringing in his head.

"Your tricks won't save you, human," The White Fang Lieutenant revved his chainsaw and took a menacing step forward, "You will die today."

Once more, the Lieutenant rushed at him, with bloodlust so thick that he could feel it pouring out of his mask. He eyed the sawblade wearily as he got ready to jump out of the way.

What he hadn't expected was for someone from what remained of the crowd to jump in front of him.

It was a girl, the long black hair and shapely figure did not argue otherwise. It was a girl, and a Faunus one at that, with cat-like ears that stood out neatly atop her head. She wielded a sleek looking katana and met the White Fang Lieutenant head on, their weapons crashing against one another in a shower of sparks.

"What are you doing, recruit?" The Lieutenant hissed.

"Stopping you…" The girl ground out, "From continuing to tarnish the name of The White Fang!"

"Tarnish?" The Lieutenant laughed, "I'm doing you a favor by killing this _human_ , girl. Now, get out of the way."

"Why don't you understand that what you're doing is wrong?!" The girl all but shouted, "You think that using violence as a means to an end is the right way to get equality?!"

They glared at each other as the deadlock continued, neither one budging an inch.

"…I thought I recognized you, girl," The White Fang Lieutenant slowly began, "Ah yes, you're the traitor. A betrayer of her own people, even after all that The White Fang has done for you."

He could see the girl visibly recoil back at the statement. The Lieutenant took this chance and revved his chainsaw, breaking out of the deadlock. Sparks flew once more as steel grounded against steel. The girl leaped back as she dodged another wild swing from the massive sawblade. Gears began to turn, metal parts started to move, and what had once been a katana had now morphed into a small little handgun.

"Sun, now!" The girl yelled out as she squeezed the trigger.

Bullets bounced harmlessly off the chainsaw's hard outer exterior, but the girl was not expecting to bring down the Lieutenant with mere 9mm rounds. She was merely playing the role of a distraction.

"You got it!"

He was not sure what he was seeing.

Golden wraith like specters dashed forward. They appeared to be incorporeal beings of some kind, a Semblance perhaps, but he was unsure. The glowing apparitions leapt at the Lieutenant, and once contact was made, they exploded in a golden flash of light.

As wondrous as the technique was, it proved to be ineffective as the White Fang Lieutenant merely shrugged off the explosion. The blonde haired boy, Sun he believed was his name, did not appeared to be deterred. Instead, Sun merely drew out his weapon, a sleek looking staff, and took a casual step forward.

"Another traitor among our people?" The Lieutenant growled, "How disappointing."

"Sorry," Sun playfully shrugged, "I'm not really into cults."

And then the fighting began once more. Despite its slender frame, the blonde's staff managed to fend off the massive sawblade with relative ease. The black haired girl in front of him soon joined in, brandishing her katana as well. Steel met steel once more as the battle in front of him continued on in earnest.

Their sounds of combat meshed in flawlessly with the rest of the chaos that was happening around them. Orpheus was still battling against the White Fang, and whatever foot soldiers that remained of the group had turned their attention towards the master of strings. It was a futile effort, for Orpheus would not fall, not by their hand.

He brought a hand towards his head, a pained expression evident on his face. Orpheus would not fall to the White Fang, but that meant nothing if he could not maintain the manifestation of the master of strings.

Enough was enough.

While Personas could do battle on their own, they were always more effective when being actively commanded. With the White Fang Lieutenant now being distracted by the rather odd pair of Faunus, he could take control of Orpheus once more. And with Orpheus, came power, the power of high-end spells and incantations forged through the trial of fire that had once been Tartarus.

 _Niflheim._

If it had been cold before, it was absolutely freezing now; for the embodiment of winter spared no expenses. Ice and snow plastered the building, covering over all like a powdery white carpet. Icicles hung from the frostbitten walls, reflecting images of man and machine now frozen in time. The sound of battle was no more, for now there was only peace.

He hated the cold, but he could not deny its place; for while fire and lightning could only destroy, ice could preserve. He was no killer; he had no wish to take their lives. A misty steam of breath escaped from his lips. It was cold, too cold, but even the truest form of winter could give off a familiar kind of warmth; warmth formed from the peace and quiet that only the icy season could give.

Orpheus floated overhead, ready in waiting for its next command. He dismissed the master of strings and let out a small sigh of relief. Maintaining a summon without a Plume of Dusk was a tiresome task indeed, and it was a burden that he did not wish to carry again.

In the nearby distance, through all the snow and ice, he could make out two figures eyeing him wearily. It was the strange duo of Faunus that had come to his aid. They were one of the few individuals in the building that had been spared from winter's bite, unlike the rest of their people. The White Fang Lieutenant stood frozen in place once more, only this time, the man would not be breaking free from his prison of ice.

He was dimly aware that another certain duo was missing. Neopolitan and her friend were nowhere to be seen. It was a pity, for he had some choice questions for the miniature girl and her companion. He supposed that he would meet them again soon enough.

He was so enamored with his thoughts that he had not noticed that the black haired girl from before had approached him. As he got a closer look at the woman, he couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity. Long black hair and yellow colored eyes, an uncommon sight.

Ah, of course.

It was a diluted memory, but the description still rang true in his mind. The only thing missing was the black bow. It was the girl that the Schnee heiress had been searching for.

"You are Blake?" He eventually asked.

The girl let a brief look of surprise flash across her face before she quickly stamped it out.

"How did you know that?" She questioned in return, wearily, "Who are you?"

"Minato Arisato," He drawled, "You're friends have been looking for you."

"My friends…?" She asked in confusion, before realization lit up in her eyes, "Oh, that."

He nodded briefly before he stepped around her.

"Hey wait, where are you going?" Blake asked.

He didn't bother responding as another sharp pang of pain shot through his head. He walked past Blake's blonde haired companion, who only regarded him with an unreadable expression. He paid it no mind as he continued to make his way through the ice and snow.

He found her in the corner of the room, with her arms draped across her chest, shivering all the while. It seemed he was not the only one that disliked the cold.

"M-Minato?" She managed to utter out as her teeth clattered together, "W-why is it-t so c-c-cold all of a sudden?!"

Despite the ringing in his head, he couldn't help but allow a small amused smile.

* * *

It was absolutely freezing and the synthetic fabric of her zip-up shirt did little to stave off the cold. Were it not for her Aura, she would have probably gotten frostbite by now. Sun seemed to be faring no better, his once open jacket was now zipped tightly shut, for what little it helped. Blake was not sure what she had seen. One second she was fighting against the White Fang Lieutenant, and the next second she was staring into a solid block of ice.

The one that had been responsible had been none other than that _human_ boy, Minato Arisato. Semblances that could summon other creatures were rare, but not unheard of. What that boy had managed to summon, Blake had never seen anything like it in her life. While it resembled a human in form, the mechanized body parts it possessed left little up to the imagination.

"Hey, Blake?" Sun began as he approached, "What're we going to do now?"

She blinked and took a glance around the room. Ice and snow draped over the place, and whatever White Fang members that hadn't run away were now all frozen in place. This was a gathering for new recruits, but a good chunk of the White Fang forces in Vale were also here.

Those same members that were now mere blocks of ice. Blake wasn't a fool; she knew that they wouldn't have been able to stop a White Fang gathering. She and Sun were merely here to gather information, to glean some insight regarding the White Fang's plans.

And yet, here they were in the midst of a recent battle. No, to call it a battle would've been a sham. It was more akin to a slaughter than a battle, the White Fang and their newly acquired Paladins hadn't stood much of a chance. The White Fang, one of the most dangerous groups in the entire planet, hadn't stood a chance against a single human boy. Not a famous huntsman or anything of the sort, but a complete unknown, an abnormality.

Just _who_ was Minato Arisato?

Sun seemed to have noticed her questioning gaze.

"Blake?"

Her gaze flickered towards the boy.

"So, what're we going to do now?" Sun asked once more, "I mean we didn't exactly get what we came for but…"

The blonde haired boy paused before letting an amused smile cross his face.

"…We did stop their meeting."

" _We_ didn't do anything," She corrected, " _He_ was the one that stopped the White Fang and their gathering."

"Hey, we helped didn't we?" The boy shrugged, "I mean it looked like he was struggling there for a second, until we came into the picture anyway."

She chose not to respond, instead turning her attention back towards where the abnormality had vanished. After a brief moment, he finally reemerged from the run down walls in the back of the building, only he wasn't alone. A blonde haired human woman followed from behind, one that she did not recognize.

"Who's that?" Sun asked.

Blake simply shrugged in response as she mulled it over in her head. The White Fang had to have captured that woman, perhaps as a prisoner or a hostage? Just the thought of the idea caused her mood to go sour. Truly, the White Fang was no longer the one that she had loved so dearly in the past.

She watched closely as the blue haired boy slowly made his way past the field of ice while the blonde haired woman followed not too far behind. She found herself beginning to approach the boy once more, crushing through ice and snow alike underfoot. When she finally drew close enough, she could see his gaze flicker towards her, an apathetic look in his eyes.

"You have questions," He stated with indifference.

Blake nodded.

"I will answer what I can, but not today," He gave a strained smile, "I am not in the best state of mind right now."

She frowned.

"Then when?"

"Another time," He brushed off.

She crossed her arms over her chest.

"And where will I find you?"

"Y-you can f-find us at Char's C-café in downtown V-vale," The blonde woman clattered out, "B-bring your f-friends when you s-stop by for a g-g-group discount!"

The blonde haired woman managed to force out a grin despite the clattering of her teeth. Clearly, the cold was bothering her a lot more than it was them.

"And," Blake began slowly, "You will be waiting there?"

"I work there," He drawled.

Blake blinked.

He worked at a café. Not as a huntsman, or anything of the like, but at a café. She wasn't sure if she could actually wrap her mind around that idea.

It was absurd.

"H-hey, Minato," The blonde haired woman eventually murmured, "L-let's get out of h-here already, it's f-freezing."

He seemed to agree with the woman and began to walk away. Blake did not miss how he tilted his head at her in acknowledgement as he passed by.

"Hey, wait!" Sun called out as he approached, "What're we going to do about these guys?"

"You are huntsmen, are you not?"

His words were more akin to a statement than a question.

"Huntsmen-in-training," Blake corrected.

"Nonetheless," He shrugged, "I leave them to you."

* * *

He had a headache.

A terrible, unforgiving headache. A headache that wouldn't go away, no matter how many healing spells he tried to cast. He brought a hand up to his head and sighed.

"You sure you don't want to take the day off Minato?" Charlotte asked with concern evident on her face, "I can handle the place just fine by myself."

He waved her off. While the reoccurring pangs of pain were annoying, it would not affect his ability to work. Regardless, he was a creature of habit anyway and disliked going against his set routine. Keeping oneself busy was a good way to stave off boredom as well as certain unpleasant thoughts that liked to haunt his dreams.

They worked quietly in the wee early morning hours, readying the café for another day of business. Tables were cleaned, supplies were prepared, and condiments were laid out. It was tedious work, but he enjoyed it for the simple peace and quiet that it provided.

"So, are you going to tell me why the White Fang seemed to want your head?"

He kept his attention on the dirty dishrag and the table in front of him.

"The White Fang wanted to kill Tukson."

"Tukson? The bookstore owner?" The blonde's eyebrows furrowed as she connected the dots, "So, he was the "traitor" they spoke about then? And you saved him?"

He simply nodded in response.

"I see," The woman nodded as well, "Now it all makes sense."

He stopped scrubbing at the table and glanced at the woman.

"I am sorry."

"For what?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

"For getting you involved," He softly replied, "The kidnapping, I should've seen it coming."

The look in the woman's eyes softened.

"Don't worry about it Minato, you did the right thing. Everything turned out okay in the end right?"

He sighed.

"This will not be the end."

"No, it probably won't be," The blonde agreed, "Groups like the White Fang tend to hang onto grudges."

"If you…" He paused and averted his eyes, "If you no longer wish to be associated with me, I understand."

His boss seemed to regard him with an unreadable expression. He had expected many things, but a dirty dishrag slapping him in the face had not been one of those things.

"Minato, I don't care if you have the entire world after you," The woman said as she gave a cheery grin, "You'll always be welcome here, got that?"

He blinked.

"But, the White Fang-"

"Forget the White Fang! If they want to mess with us again, we'll just take care of them again!" Charlotte huffed, "Now enough slacking off! It's time to open shop!"

He watched her quietly for a while, his mind still processing what had just transpired. His lips twitched, and slowly, he found himself breaking into a smile. He couldn't help but chuckle.

She was right, it was indeed time to get back to work.

* * *

It was a slow day.

Normally, it was one of the days that Neopolitan would stop by. He was not surprised that she had not shown up, not after what had happened. Though, he had this inkling that he would run into the petite woman once more, soon enough.

Fate always seemed to have a way of throwing curveballs in his direction.

When the bell at the top of the door rang and a familiar face walked in, he raised an eyebrow. He had been expecting her to come, but not this soon. The black haired girl briefly met his gaze before taking a seat at a nearby table.

When he approached with a menu and his notepad, he did not miss the cross look on her face.

"Are you ready to talk now?"

"I am still on shift," He softly replied.

Blake pursed her lips together.

"There's barely anybody here."

He shrugged, "Nonetheless."

She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I can wait."

"And your order?"

She took the menu and gave it a brief once more, clearly uninterested in its contents.

"Just a cup of tea is fine."

He simply nodded and jotted the order down onto his notepad.

* * *

The rest of his shift went about as he had expected it to. It was a slow day and aside from the occasional customer, there was not much to do. He did not mind, the slow tempo suited him just fine. The peace and quiet did wonders for his headache as well.

He did not miss how the Faunus girl had kept her eyes on him the entire time. While he tried to not let it bother him, it was still hard to not be conscious of it. Eventually, his shift came to an end as the sun began to dip and the store's hours began to near its closing.

He stifled a small yawn as he made his way over to Blake's table once more. Pulling out a chair, he dutifully took a seat across from the Faunus girl.

"Are you ready to talk _now_?" She dryly asked once more.

He simply nodded.

"What is it that you wish to know?"

"Just _who_ are you?"

"Minato Arisato," He drawled.

Blake narrowed her eyes.

"And just _who_ _is_ Minato Arisato?" She questioned with a bit more tenacity this time, "What is your connection with the White Fang? Why are there barely any records of you, if any at all?"

He thought about the first question and was unsure on how to go about answering it. The other two however, were far easier to answer, so he decided to settle on those.

"I suppose you could say that the White Fang hold a grudge against me for interfering with their plans," He slowly began, "As for my records, that is simply because I am not from here."

"A grudge…?" She repeated, "Explain."

"They wanted someone dead, and I stopped them," He simply stated.

"An assassination attempt?" Blake sighed, "Just how far are they willing to go…"

He watched as her features grew hard in a way that reminded him of Tukson. It seemed that she was quite familiar with the terrorist group. He did not choose to pry, for everyone had their own secrets after all.

"You say that you are not from here," She began once more, "Clarify that."

He hesitated, unsure of whether or not he should speak the truth.

"I am from a far, far away place."

In the end, he had decided on a rather cryptic answer. He was not exactly lying, but he was not telling the whole truth either. The way that the girl glared at him very clearly showed that she wasn't pleased with his answer.

"You are from somewhere beyond the wall then," Blake finally settled on, "It's the only explanation as to why there are so little records on someone of your caliber."

He did not deny it, and simply remained silent on the issue. It was better to let people fill in the blanks themselves as that led to far less questions.

"Are you satisfied now?" He tilted his head towards the clock on the wall, "It is getting late."

"One more," She stated, "One more question and I'll be finished."

"Alright," He agreed, "One more question."

"Do you know what the White Fang are planning? Any idea whatsoever?"

He did not miss the intensity in her eyes as she asked her question. Clearly, the White Fang was a topic of great importance to her. After what he had seen, he could not deny that it bothered him as well. The surge in Dust robberies, the stockpiling of weapons, clearly something big was happening in the background. People did not gather supplies like that without planning a use for them.

"I'm afraid not," He eventually replied.

She frowned, a downtrodden look evident on her face.

"But," He continued as he glanced over towards a familiar empty table near the corner of the café, "I may know of someone that does."

* * *

Author's Notes: This took a little longer to write than I wanted it to, but it's also a little longer than usual, so I suppose that evens it out. I'm curious to know, do you guy's prefer shorter chapters more often, or longer chapters with a little more delay in between?

As usual, thanks for all the love and support. And thanks to Croniklerx as well for helping beta the chapter. I'll see you all next time~

-SFX


	5. Chapter 5: Once in a Blue Moon

**Chapter 5-**

 **Once in a Blue Moon  
**

* * *

A week had passed by and he was surprised that nothing out of the norm had occurred.

Blake had become somewhat of a regular at the café, though it wasn't because of the food. Rather, it was because of her almost unhealthy obsession with the White Fang. From what little information he had managed to gleam from their conversations, she had been a former member of the now terrorist group.

Judging by her rather frequent appearances, the Faunus girl seemed to have developed this notion that he knew a lot more about the White Fang than what he was letting on. In truth, he probably knew less about said organization than the girl did herself. What little he did know about the White Fang was from the information that Tukson had given him before his departure to Vacuo.

While he did have a possible lead in regards to their plans, he had not seen hide nor hair of Neopolitan since the confrontation at the warehouse. Neopolitan was as much of a mystery as she was when he had first met the petite girl. He had no way of contacting her, so the only options were to either simply wait until she decided to show up, or to look for her himself.

The first option did not seem to sit well with Blake, hence her frequent appearances at the café.

When the bell atop the door rang and he was met with the familiar sight of a black bow, he didn't even bother grabbing a menu. Charlotte gave him a sly grin and he simply sighed in response as he headed into the kitchen. Whatever fantasies his boss had conjured up in her head was something that he didn't need nor want to know.

He left the kitchen and approached Blake's table with a mug in hand and placed said object in front of her. She briefly glanced down at the mug and raised an eyebrow in response.

"This isn't tea," The girl pointed out.

"You're right," He casually replied, "It's coffee."

Her eyebrows furrowed in response.

"Why?"

"It seemed like you could use it," He eventually answered.

The girl narrowed her eyes at him, which only further exacerbated the dark bags under them. He simply shrugged in response as he headed back into the kitchen. There were still other customers to tend to after all.

* * *

When his shift came to end and he found himself approaching the black haired girl's table once more, he raised an eyebrow. As per usual, Blake had her Scroll in hand searching for information about the White Fang as she waited for the end of his shift. Only this time, she seemed to have fallen asleep, despite the empty mug that stood off on the side of the table.

Evidently, the caffeinated drink didn't have much of an effect.

He pulled out a chair and took his usual seat on the table across from her. Blake's eyes flew open as she jerked awake at the sudden movement. Yellow iris's skirted about the room in a panic before they finally settled down into a familiar narrow glare.

It was like waking up a sleeping cat.

"You have not been sleeping well," He eventually pointed out.

"I've been sleeping just fine," She evenly replied.

He simply shrugged.

"If you say so."

The girl gave him a withering look.

"It's hard to sleep when the White Fang are out there planning their next move while we have no idea what it actually is."

"Perhaps we should simply leave this matter to your superiors?" He suggested.

"Not when they don't have any plans to do anything about it," She bitterly replied, "They don't know the White Fang like I do. They don't know what Ad- what the White Fang are capable of."

He raised an eyebrow at her stutter.

"You are referring to Adam Taurus?"

Blake narrowed her eyes.

"How do you know that name?"

"From a friend," He shrugged once more, "Is he truly that much of a threat?"

"He is," She eventually replied, "But it's not just him, something bigger than Adam is going on in the background."

A hard frown found its way onto her otherwise delicate features.

"The White Fang would never work together with humans, especially not with someone like Roman Torchwick" She continued, "Someone else is pulling the strings and they've got Adam and the White Fang backing them."

He sighed.

"Nonetheless, you were the one that said you were Huntsmen-in-training. Should you not leave this to the professionals?"

"I would gladly do that. The only problem is that the _professionals_ don't plan on doing anything!" She snapped, "The White Fang are planning something big and nobody knows what! They're all content with simply waiting around and doing nothing!"

He had no knowledge about how the Huntsmen or the police operated in this world so he simply remained quiet. Blake leaned back against her chair and sighed as well.

"You're the only lead I have," She softly began, "I can't just sit around and do nothing, not when the White Fang are involved."

"Blake, I don't know any more about the White Fang than you do."

"But your _friend_ does," She pointed out.

"Possibly," He agreed, "But as you already know, I have not heard from her in some time."

"Which is why we should keep looking for her," She challenged.

He did not miss how she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"You should get some sleep first," He suggested, "Or you will worry your friends again."

"I'm fine," She briskly replied, "My friends are fine, they aren't worried."

"Are you sure about that?" He drawled, "Because they've been staring at us from the window for the past twenty minutes."

Blake's eyes narrowed as she quickly whipped her head back. The three girl's eyes widened in surprise before they quickly ducked in response. It was almost amusing to see.

The black haired girl in front of him simply sighed.

* * *

They were all seated around a small table in the middle of the café. While it was technically after hours, Charlotte did not have a problem with letting a few more people in. Although he was not sure what to make of the sly grin and wink his boss had given him.

"Uhm… So, we're Blake's friends. I'm Ruby," The diminutive girl hesitantly began, "This is my sister, Yang," The blonde waved, "And this is-"

"We've already met before Ruby," The Schnee heiress interrupted, "Though I don't believe we managed to catch your name last time."

While the memory was vague, he did recall meeting the Schnee heiress and the blonde one when they had shown up at the café in search for Blake.

"Minato Arisato," He eventually replied.

"Hmm…" Yang hummed as she stared at him, as if appraising something, "So, you're the guy that Blake's been sneaking off to see for the past week huh?"

He raised an eyebrow, unsure of where the girl was planning on going with this.

"I approve," Yang said as she gave a sly grin, "Too bad for Sun though."

"Yang," Blake groaned, "It's not like that and you know it."

"Heh, relax kitty-cat. I was just teasing," The blonde snickered.

The glare that Blake was shooting at the blonde haired girl seemed to have little effect as she only continued to snicker.

"Why are you guys even here," Blake finally bit out.

"Because Blake, we're worried about you," Weiss elaborated, "You're clearly letting this investigation get to you."

"Blake, we just think you should take a break," Ruby slowly began, "You should come to the dance with everyone."

"I don't have time for something as silly as a dance! _We_ don't have time for that!" The Faunus girl snapped, " Torchwick and the White Fang are out there planning who knows what, and you guys want to go to a dance?"

He watched the argument continue on with mild interest. It was to be expected for her friends to be worried when she was pushing herself this hard. But, everybody had limits and choosing to ignore those limits was not a wise decision. He knew that from experience, Tartarus was not something that could be conquered in a matter of days after all.

Perhaps that was why he found himself intervening by putting a hand on the black haired girl's shoulder, before she could leave.

"You wish to stop the White Fang."

It was a simple statement.

"Obviously," Blake muttered.

"How do you plan on doing that when you can barely stay awake?"

She brushed his arm off and glared.

"I already told you, I'm _fine_."

He simply shrugged once more.

"You are merely setting yourself back by not taking any time off," He pointed out, "How much time do you think you will waste when you become bedridden due to exhaustion?"

"He's got a point Blake," Weiss interjected.

The Faunus girl bit her lip but did not say anything in response.

"Come on Blake, even Blue over there agrees with us," Yang supplied, "Just come to the dance and take it easy for a day."

He raised an eyebrow at the nickname. He wasn't sure if he particularly liked being referred to by that name.

"Blake, nothing's going to happen if you just take _one_ day off," Ruby quickly added, "Everyone's worried about you."

An uncomfortable silence settled in the room as four pairs of eyes stood transfixed on the black haired girl. The tension in the air was thick as the trio of girls awaited their friend's answer with baited breath. Eventually, Blake finally broke the silence with a defeated sigh.

"Alright fine, I'll go to the dance, "She relented.

"Yay!" Ruby cheered.

"While I would not put it in the same way as Ruby did, I do agree with her sentiments," Weiss said as she nodded in agreement.

"Way to go Blue," Yang grinned as she playfully slugged him in the arm, "We've been trying to get her to go for the whole week!"

He winced as he rubbed his arm. It felt as if he had just taken a hit from Akihiko, and just like his upperclassman, the girl sure packed one hell of a punch…

He watched as the group of girls talked amongst themselves. Whatever tension that had hung in the air before was no more. Blake had good friends. Their relationship reminded him of his own friends, of SEES and the memories that came with them.

He couldn't help but smile at the familiar sight.

* * *

He found himself sitting on a bench in the middle of downtown Vale.

It was his day off. Usually, he would've spent his time reading at Tukson's bookstore, but with the man no longer here, he found himself with the simple problem of having nothing to do. It was why he initially found himself scouring the city in search of Neopolitan.

The more he tried to find out about the mute girl, the bigger the mystery around her seemed to grow. There was less information out there about the girl than there was about himself and he wasn't even from this world. Trying to seek out Neopolitan was like trying to find a needle in a haystack; he had no idea where to even begin, and therein lied the problem as he found himself aimlessly wandering the city.

Cars whizzed by and people walked about as he watched with mild interest. _Life_ moved around him and as strange it was, he found himself enjoying being the spectator. Perhaps it had been due to his time as the seal, but simply observing people move about their daily lives had never been as relaxing as it had been since arriving on Remnant.

"Hey Blue, fancy seeing you here!"

He blinked.

The familiar sight of the buxom blonde and her little sister stepped into his line of sight. He did not miss the shopping bags they carried as both girls took a seat on the free spaces of the wooden bench.

"Not working at the café today Blue?" Yang casually asked.

"The café is closed today," He answered.

"Aww really?" Ruby griped, "We were thinking of stopping by to get something to eat too."

He shrugged.

"There are other places to eat."

"I guess…" The younger sister sighed, "I wanted to try the strawberry parfait though…"

Silence soon settled in as the conversation died out.

"Hey Blue," It was Yang who eventually broke the silence, "We never did properly thank you for helping out with Blake," She smiled, "So thanks."

"I didn't do much," He eventually replied as he continued to watch the cars buzz by, "Did she finally get some sleep?"

"Yeah, and thank the gods for that too," Yang chuckled, "Normal Blake is already grouchy enough, but sleep deprived Blake? That's on a whole different level."

He couldn't help but agree.

"Hey Minato," Ruby began, "So what're you doing out here?"

"Waiting for a friend," He replied as he eyed their shopping bags, "I am guessing you two went shopping?"

"Yep, we just finished getting our dresses for the school dance," Yang answered, "Say…" She gave a sly grin, "Do you have any plans Friday night?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Aside from working at the café?" He shook his head, "No, I do not."

"Then how about coming to the dance?"

"No."

"Aw come on, why not?" Yang pouted, "It'll be fun!"

"I don't dance."

"You don't dance or you don't know how?" The blonde slyly asked.

He supposed it was a little of both. It didn't matter either way; he never felt comfortable at large social gatherings. He was always more of a solitary person.

"I don't dance," He repeated.

"You should still come Minato," Ruby suggested, "I don't dance either, but I'm still going."

"Yeah come on Blue, just come! I'll show you how to dance if you don't know how. We were the ones that set everything up you know," Yang said before she threw an arm over his shoulder and dragged him close, "Think of it as Team RWBY's thank you for helping out with Blake."

He glanced at the invasion of personal space and frowned. He attempted to squirm free, but the girl's grip around his neck only seemed to tighten the more he moved. When it became apparent that the girl wasn't going to let go, he gave a pleading look to the younger sister. Ruby simply pretended to whistle as she suddenly took an interest at the scenery around them, leaving him to his fate.

How cruel.

"Come on Blue!" Yang encouraged once more, "There'll be music, drinks, and even fog machines!"

He sighed; he did not do well against types like her.

"Alright," He relented, "I'll go, so can you let go of me now?"

Thankfully, the girl finally loosened her hold on his neck and he was able to wiggle free. He gave her a light scowl. The girl in question merely grinned back.

"I knew you'd come around Blue," The blonde said as her grin grew larger by the minute, "So we'll see you at the dance then?"

He suddenly felt the need to sigh again.

"I didn't hear a confirmation yet~" Yang sang in a sing-song voice as she scooted closer once more.

He responded by deftly scooting further away towards the edge of the bench. She continued to scoot closer and he responded in kind. At this point, it became a battle of attrition as he continued towards the very edge of the wooden bench. It was a battle that he could not win.

"… I'll be there," He eventually yielded, "…After work anyway."

"Awesome!" The blonde happily cheered as she threw an arm over his shoulder once more, "I'll save you a dance," She winked.

He didn't even bother trying to squirm free this time and instead just sighed. The younger sister simply chuckled at his discomfort.

"Yang," He drawled, "Personal space."

"What's personal space among friends?"

Truly, with her complete disregard for personal space, it was like dealing with a female version of Junpei...

* * *

The sun had just begun to set when he decided to return home. His meeting with the two sisters had been unexpected, but it had served as a good way to pass the time. Although getting roped into attending a school dance was something he would have rather avoided. At the very least, he supposed that he would be able to see what a Huntsmen academy would be like.

When he arrived at the front door of his apartment, he was surprised to find it unlocked. Immediately, he reached for his evoker and kept a firm grip on its handle as he walked inside. Nothing looked out of the ordinary in the living room; everything seemed to be where he had left it.

Still, he kept his wits about him as he began to venture into the kitchen.

The first thing that he noticed was that the lights were on. As he continued to approach, he noticed the smell of chocolate in the air. That was strange, as he could not recall buying any of the sugary treat recently.

Fingering the trigger on his evoker, he stepped out from behind the hallway. He frowned when he saw a colorful figure casually sitting in the middle of his kitchen sipping what appeared to be hot chocolate from his favorite mug. If the sly grin on her face was any indication, it appeared that she was enjoying herself a little too much.

He started to feel a headache begin to come on.

"Why are you here?"

Neopolitan simply gave him an amused look as she continued to sip her drink. She gestured towards the extra chair in front of her and as per usual, he found himself getting wrapped up into her pace. He pulled the chair out and sat down as he gave the girl in front of him an annoyed look.

"How did you even get into my house?"

" _I have my ways."_

He thought about inquiring further before quickly deciding against it. Trying to get a straight answer from Neopolitan was probably about as difficult as trying to find said girl.

"Actually, I don't even want to know," He sighed, "Why are you here?"

She shrugged, the amused look never leaving her face.

" _I came to pay a visit."_

"You could've just come to the café instead of breaking into my house," He deadpanned.

" _I was busy with work."_

He narrowed his eyes.

"With the White Fang?"

She simply shrugged once more.

" _Do you not approve?"_

"I can't say that I do," He admitted, "But, that is beside the point."

She raised an eyebrow.

"You know I have been searching for you for the past week," He drawled.

 _"Oh?"_ An amused glint lit up in her eyes, _"Did you miss me that much?"_

He shrugged.

"Not particularly."

The girl in front of him crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. He briefly flashed her an amused grin of his own before turning serious once more.

"The White Fang are planning something big," He eventually continued, "Do you know anything about it?"

The sly grin from before returned to her face.

" _Perhaps, but even if I did know about it. Why would I tell you?"_ She brought a gloved covered finger up to her lips, _"That would be a pretty important secret, would it not?"_

He sighed once more. Neopolitan could be as whimsical as she could be mysterious. The short girl enjoyed toying around far too much for his tastes.

"The same reason why you warned me about the White Fang before," He slowly replied, "The same reason why you are here right now."

Neopolitan stood up and grabbed her parasol from the table before she began to saunter over. The sly grin on her face was ever present as she stood in front of him. Slowly, he watched as her free hand began to reach over towards his collar. When she got a firm grip on it, she began to pull him closer. He could make out the faint scent of perfume.

Just as he was about to remind her about his personal space, he heard the familiar sound of glass shattering. Only this time, it did not come from his evoker. The space around him seemed to warp and distort. Then, everything became little more than a blur as he felt his body suddenly lurch forward.

It was an uncomfortable feeling.

* * *

He was not sure what had happened. The white plaster of his homely kitchen walls were no more, instead replaced by dull decaying bricks. He was no longer in his kitchen.

An illusion perhaps? No, the cold stone steps beneath his feet felt far too real for an illusion. Teleportation of some kind then. He glanced over towards his shorter companion who stood off at the end of the alleyway. She simply smirked before twirling around and beckoning him to follow as she strolled down the narrow alleyway.

He frowned but still made to follow. The two figures continued down the decrepit alleyway until one of them suddenly stop. Were he paying any less attention, he would have probably barreled straight into her and judging by her rather small stature, over her as well.

A glove covered hand began to feel around the wall before reaching a slightly protruding brick. The piece of stone was then pushed in as a small dark passageway began to creak open. Neopolitan stood aside and titled her head, beckoning him inside.

He raised an eyebrow but decided to say nothing of it as he began to descend the stairway. It was as dark as it was narrow and if it weren't for the dimly lit light at the bottom, he would've probably tripped over by now. As he continued the trek down, he heard the walls behind him close once more and the soft steps of Neopolitan following closely behind.

The first thing that he noticed was the smell of Tobacco in the air. He felt his nose wrinkle at the scent that reminded him of burnt cigarettes. The figure that waited at the end of the tunnel was a familiar one, but one that he had not expected.

He sat with a gentleman like grace, or as graceful as one could look sitting on a pile of wooden crates anyway. A lit cigar hung loosely in his hand as a single green iris gleamed over him with interest.

"Oh, hey kid!" The man greeted with mock surprise, "Fancy seeing you here! Why, since you're already here, how about we have a nice little chat?"

He wasn't sure if it was due to the tobacco smoke in the air or because the man somehow managed to get on his nerves already, but he could feel the markings of another headache quickly approaching.

* * *

Author's Note: I found myself with some extra free time lately, so this chapter ended up being finished a lot earlier than usual. I'm sure you guy's don't mind that though, ah ha. After thinking about it, I think I'll stick to shorter chapters as I'm more comfortable with that, hope you guys don't mind. I feel as if I were to write simply for the sake of extending the word count, I'll end up filling half the chapter with needless exposition, and that would probably make for a dull read.

As usual, thank you all for the support as well as to Croniklerx for being my beta. I don't respond to every review as I don't always have something to say, but I do read them all, so thank you for the reviews. I'll see you all next time~

-SFX


	6. Chapter 6: Blood in the Water

**Chapter 6-**

 **Blood in the Water**

* * *

They were sitting on a bunch of battered wooden crates in a dimly lit room. It seemed to be a storage room or a safe house of some kind. Roman sat in front of him while Neopolitan stood off at the side, watching the ongoing conversation with an unreadable expression.

"I'm sure you've figured it out by now," The notorious thief said to him, "That my _colleagues_ have plans, plans that don't exactly bode well for the kingdom and its residents."

He did not miss the almost faint bitterness in Torchwick's voice when the thief had mentioned his colleagues.

"Y'see kid, the ones that are running the show? You don't know what they're planning, I don't know what they're planning," Roman continued, "But, what we both know is that they're planning _something_ , and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's not something _good_."

Roman paused, and whether it was an attempt at dramatic effect, or if the thief simply wanted to let the full weight of his words sink in, he wasn't sure. Though, if he had to guess, it would probably be the former. From what he'd seen of the thief so far, the man seemed to be one of those people that possessed a more… Frivolous type of personality.

"Now, the thing is, I rather liked the old status quo. Because you see, back when I was running the show, you could say that the city was actually, you know, _peaceful_. Things actually ran smoothly."

For some very good reasons, he doubted that Roman Torchwick's definition of peaceful was the same as his. The man did make a fair enough point though, because less than a few months ago, crime in the city was nowhere near as hectic as it was now.

"There weren't cops patrolling around the streets at every single block. There wasn't a curfew, and there definitely weren't a bunch of White Fang mutts running around as if they owned the place," The thief went on, "And the most important thing of all? I used to be the one calling the shots. And guess what? I rather like being the one that runs the show."

Roman leaned forward in his seat and his face diverged into a dangerous smirk.

"So, I've got a proposition for you kid."

Ah, there it was. He was wondering when the man was going to get to the point. It was fairly obvious what the man wanted.

"You wish to use me to…" He paused, thinking of the right words to use, "Remove your competition."

"That's such a _terrible_ way to phrase it," The thief casually remarked, "Think of it as… An extra benefit for me, on top of doing some good for the world. After all," He smirked once more, "I only have the _purest_ of interests in mind."

Somehow, he doubted that.

"Either way, it doesn't matter," Roman insisted, "The point is, you want to stop them while I want them out of the picture. Our goals are practically aligned, so I'm sure something can be arranged between us to make achieving our objectives... Go a lot more smoothly."

He frowned. Truly, the decision to save Tukson was that of a slippery slope indeed. The consequences of that single choice were beginning to pile on as time continued to pass by. He really didn't want to get involved in any more situations than what he had already gotten dragged into in the first place. Though, he had a feeling that it was already too late for that.

"Why me?"

Roman raised an eyebrow in surprise before frowning.

"Are you seriously asking me that question kid?"

He shrugged.

"Why not the Huntsmen?"

"And get myself shipped off in a dingy little container to old Ironwood?" The thief scoffed, "Yeah uh, I'll pass on that."

"I'm sure you can come to an agreement of some kind with them."

"Come to an agreement with Ironwood's group? With my colorful history?"

Roman glanced over at Neopolitan before promptly breaking out into a laughing fit. The mute girl shared a similar look of amusement on her face.

"That was a good joke, but seriously kid," The thief eventually began, once the laughter had subsided, "How about it?"

He stared at the glove covered hand offered out in front of him.

"You work with the White Fang," He pointed out.

"Please don't make it sound like I actually _wanted_ to work with those mongrels. There were some _extenuating_ circumstances involved, I can assure you that."

"Nonetheless, you are aligned with them," He continued, "They tried to kill me."

"Which we had absolutely _zero_ part in by the way," Roman argued, "And if I'm recalling correctly, my little friend over there actually dropped by to give you a warning."

He gave quick glance over towards Neopolitan, who simply waved while that ever present sly grin rested on her face.

"They kidnapped my friend."

"Truly, an absolute _travesty_ of the highest order," Roman nodded patronizingly, "Still, we had absolutely nothing to do with that either. I'm pretty sure that was an order from the king of the mutts himself."

He couldn't help but start to feel the slightest twinge of annoyance at the man's flippant attitude.

"You are referring to Adam Taurus?" He dryly asked.

"Yeah, that monkey," The thief crudely replied, "Or should I say bull? Eh, whatever," The man shrugged, "An animal's an animal."

Ignoring the man's blatant racism, the thief's petty remarks actually contained a good deal of insight. Apparently, Adam Taurus himself had been the one to orchestra the whole kidnapping situation. The question was whether or not Taurus had ordered it because he had crossed the White Fang, or if it was because of these "others" that Roman kept alluding to.

"If I agree to this…" He softly began, "You will tell me everything."

Rather than a question, it was a demand. The infamous criminal in front of him simply blinked before his mouth slowly split into a predatory grin. The man began to let out a low chuckle.

"You know what kid?" Roman asked as the man sauntered over and threw an arm over his shoulder, "I think this marks for the beginnings of a _great_ partnership."

The look on his face was enough to cause the thief to visibly pale and take a step back.

"Right, so no touchy-feely, gotcha" Roman quickly recovered, "So anyway… What kind of dark shadowy secrets of the underworld would you like the great Roman Torchwick to educate you on today?"

He simply stared at the unnecessary theatrics as the thief stood with his arms spread out. He gave Neopolitan a bland look and the colorful girl simply returned it with an amused shrug.

" _That's just how he is."_

"Hey!" Roman frowned, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

The girl in question simply shrugged once more.

"Adam Taurus," He interrupted, "He was the one that gave the order?"

The unlikely duo both blinked before they both turned their heads at the same time. He stared back with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Probably," Roman eventually answered.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Probably?"

"Probably," The thief repeated, "It didn't come from the higher ups, so the bull probably acted on his own accord."

"So you don't actually know."

Roman frowned as he walked back over towards his makeshift seat.

"Look kid, just because I work with these guys doesn't mean I know everything that goes on," The man shot back, "And after that stunt you pulled at the warehouse? Let's just say that it didn't exactly cast me into the best light with the higher ups."

"If you don't know, then why am I even here?"

"I don't know _everything_ ," The man corrected, "That doesn't mean I don't know anything. These guys aren't exactly the most forthcoming in regards to their plans you know. Where else are you going to find another person that can feed you insider information anyway?"

He had to admit, the man had a point there.

"These higher ups," He slowly began, "Explain."

A knowing gleam seemed to shine in the man's uncovered eye.

"Now that's something I can do," Roman eagerly replied, "It's not really a they, as much as it is a she."

Roman leaned forward once more, until he was on the very edge of the wooden crate he was sitting on. The man's eyes shifted around the room, as if there could be someone else eavesdropping in their hidden underground hideout. He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the unnecessary theatrics.

"Cinder Fall," The thief finally all but whispered.

Cinder Fall. He mulled over the name for a moment, but nothing came to mind. Instead of an infamous name like Roman Torchwick, Cinder Fall was an unknown. That did not sit well with him, since from his own experiences, the unknown ones were usually the most dangerous ones.

"Who is she?"

The thief seemed to ponder it for a moment as he brought a hand up to his chin. After a brief moment, Roman knowingly nodded, as if reaffirming his thoughts.

"She's a crazy bitch."

* * *

He braced himself this time when he heard the sound of glass shattering. The space around him began to distort, twisting and turning at unsavory angles. He was not usually one to feel vertigo, but whatever it was that Neopolitan was doing still managed to make his head spin nonetheless.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back within the familiar walls of his apartment's kitchen. Neopolitan gave him a brief wave before she teleported once more, shattering away in a shower of glass. He found himself staring at the spot she had vanished at for a moment.

Eventually, he began to move. He poured himself a glass of water and sat down on one of his kitchen stools. He took a long drink before he sat the glass back onto the kitchen counter.

Neopolitan and Roman were working with the White Fang. Evidently, Cinder Fall had enough leverage and power to make it happen. Because from what he'd seen, the White Fang were about as likely to work with Roman as Roman was willing to work with them. And from how bitter Roman seemed to be about the whole situation, it looked like they didn't have much of a choice in the matter. As the thief had put it, the criminal underworld was rather cutthroat that way.

Cinder Fall also seemed to be an overly cautious person. Cautious enough to not even allow her higher ranked minions to know of her plans or of anything about herself for that matter. Roman himself had quickly admitted he knew nothing about her or her agenda.

He doubted that searching for information about the woman in question would yield many results either.

In the end, all he had gotten was a little more than a name. And for all he knew, it could've been a false name at that. Roman was right when he had said he didn't know everything. Though, it wouldn't be too far off to say that the man barely knew much of anything at all about the topic at hand.

The thief had a lot more to gain from this… _Partnership_ than he had, and no matter how hard the man's silver tongue tried to spin it; that much was obvious to him. The man hid it well among all the theatrics and bravado, but he could still make out the faint sense of desperation. Still, he had never been able to refuse people that asked him for help; it wasn't in his nature to do so.

Perhaps that was why he found himself agreeing to the proposal. In the end, no matter what kind of wrong decisions Roman Torchwick or Neopolitan had made in their lives, they were still people, human. With humanity came potential, and with potential came the ability to change, for better or worse.

Regardless, he had never been one to judge.

He glanced at his kitchen clock and frowned. It was late, a little too late for his tastes. He still had work tomorrow after all. Then he still had the matter of that dance to attend to.

Ah. The dance…

He resisted the urge to massage his forehead. He had managed to get roped into something like that, hadn't he? He couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. It was almost like he was getting dragged into crazy scenarios by Junpei or Ryoji again.

Wait. A dance.

People dressed up nicely for dances. He thought about his wardrobe and whether or not he had anything suitable to wear. When nothing came to mind, he sighed.

He would have to go shopping soon.

* * *

He stared at the familiar group of four that were currently seated in the table in front of him.

"Why are you here?"

It was a question that he had been asking far too often lately. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"You know why I'm here," Blake dryly replied.

"Yes," He agreed, "But why are they here?"

"Do you… not want us here?" Ruby hesitantly asked.

His features softened.

"I did not say that."

Almost immediately, the girl's mood brightened up.

"Well, Blake wanted to stop by," Ruby began, "And since we didn't really have anything to do today, we all decided to tag along too."

"On the contrary, we had a lot of things we could have done," Weiss muttered, "We still have to finish that homework assignment for one."

Yang playfully rolled her eyes.

"Leave it to the Ice Queen to come up with the most boring idea ever."

"As boring as is it may be," The Schnee heiress dutifully replied, "We have a responsibility to ourselves to keep our grades up."

"That was probably the lamest thing I've ever heard," Yang drawled, "Forget homework, I'd rather go out and bug Blue instead."

He felt his right eyebrow twitch in slight annoyance. The blonde girl simply gave him a grin.

"Minato," Blake quietly began, "Were you able to find anything?"

The playful atmosphere soon died out and was replaced with a much more somber, more serious tone. An almost brooding silence seemed to hang over the table.

"You were right about the White Fang," He eventually remarked, breaking the silence.

Blake slowly raised an eyebrow.

"I was right…? About what?"

"That someone else was pulling the strings."

Blake frowned and her brow furrowed in thought. The expression was shared by the rest of the group of girls. Eventually, Blake asked the burning question on everyone's minds.

"Who?"

"A woman by the name of Cinder Fall," He replied, "That was all that I was able to find out."

"That is not a name I am familiar with," Weiss commented, "I was expecting someone a little more more… Infamous I suppose."

"Like Torchwick?" Ruby helpfully supplied.

"Yes, like Torchwick," The Schnee heiress agreed, "Although, only in notoriety, as I doubt that a simple crook could orchestrate something as big as what the White Fang seem to be planning."

"And their plans?" Blake asked, "Were you able to learn anything?"

He simply shook his head. The Faunus girl did not bother to hide her disappointment.

"Oh come on kitty-cat, you didn't think it'd be that easy did you?" Yang playfully asked, "It wouldn't be any fun otherwise."

Blake scowled in response.

"Yang, this is serious."

"I know," The blonde replied, "But, that doesn't mean we can't have some fun with it."

"I am curious though," Weiss idly began, "Were you able to find out anything about this Cinder Fall person?"

He simply shook his head once more.

"She seems to be a very secretive individual," He explained, "I do not think that there are many people who know much about her."

Blake narrowed her eyes.

"We'll see about that."

"I doubt that you will find much of anything," He dryly replied.

The last thing that he wanted to see was for the girl to start depriving herself of sleep again to fuel her obsession with the White Fang.

"Even so," Blake countered, "I'm still going to try."

"And nobody's saying that you can't Blake," Yang said as she crossed her arms over her chest, "Just remember to actually get some sleep this time."

The two girls in question shared a look, and for a brief moment, neither of them seemed to budge an inch. But, eventually Blake finally seemed to give in.

"Alright Yang," Blake relented, "I get it."

"Good," The blonde nodded in satisfaction, "Now we can move on to more important things, like the dance!"

Blake began to message her temples while Weiss simply rolled her eyes. Ruby just chuckled and he couldn't help but feel his own lips begin to curve upwards in amusement.

"So Blue, you excited for the dance?" Yang asked.

He responded by simply turning his back and moving on to another table.

"Wha—hey!" Yang called out, "You can't just walk out on me like that!"

Much to his own amusement, he could.

He was still on shift after all.

* * *

Roman watched on with great intrigue as the sultry woman in front of him continued to breakdown the next phase of the plan. His little companion on the other hand simply seemed bored, as she continued to feign interest. Neo was never really into the whole scheming thing, as she usually left such devices to him. The girl preferred a more hands on approach to the criminal lifestyle, such as stabbing things. She enjoyed that part, a lot. Maybe a little too much...

Well, as long as he wasn't the one at the end of the blade, he didn't really care.

"Adam, I'll need your men to move the rest of our equipment to the site," Cinder instructed, "You'll be the one in charge in this time."

"And what about the boy?" The bull Faunus asked.

"What about him?" Cinder questioned back.

"What are we going to do about him?" Adam asked again, irritation seeping into his voice, "He's crossed us not once, but twice now."

Roman couldn't help but snort.

"You kidnapped one of his buddies; did you honestly think that he _wouldn't_ get involved somehow?"

The Grimm mask shifted its attention over, and although he couldn't really tell, Roman was pretty sure that the White Fang leader was glaring at him.

"Watch your tongue _human_ ," Adam threatened, "Otherwise, I'll cut it out."

Roman couldn't help but roll his eyes, as if he hadn't heard that line before.

"Oh dang, I'm not wearing any red am I?" He mocked as he pretended to check his clothing, "Now, I know that color makes you guys _real_ angry."

Less than a second later, Adam's hand reached for the sword at his side while his own hand was gripped tightly around his cane. For insurance, he heard the sound of Neo's hidden blade being drawn out as well.

"Enough," Cinder ground out, "There will be no more fighting amongst ourselves, understood?"

The unspoken threat was heard clear enough as the temperature in the room began to shoot up. To his credit, Adam actually managed to restrain himself and sheathed his sword. Neo slid the blade back into her parasol while he brought Melodic Cudgel back down towards the floor.

Even animals knew not to play with fire.

"You may feel free to have your men begin moving the equipment Adam," Cinder briskly began, "And don't worry about the boy. He is of no consequence to us or the plan. Not unless," She narrowed her eyes, "You let your petty need for revenge get the better of you."

The man in question merely grunted in reply before storming out the room.

"And as for you Roman," The seductress slowly began, "You'll be joining our little White Fang _friends_."

Roman frowned.

"Alright, working with those animals is one thing. But if you expect me to take orders from th—"

She was on him in the blink of an eye. A soft hand reached for his cheek while another hovered over his heart. He couldn't help but tense up at the dull heat that came from those little palms.

"Roman," She purred, "You know I don't like it when people talk back to me."

"R-right, my mistake. Work under circus animals? No problems here."

She drew herself even closer and smiled in such a seductive way that he would've probably fallen for her right then and there were it not for the fact that she was a psychotic bitch.

"That's good to hear Roman. Obedience is a good trait to have," Cinder all but whispered, "But, you know what else I don't like? Failure."

Roman could feel himself begin to sweat. Whether that was due to the rising heat emitting from her hands or something else entirely, he wasn't all too sure.

"I'm a forgiving person, but even I have my limits Roman. Don't fail me again."

"D-duly noted," He managed to usher out.

And then, she was gone. He couldn't help but let out a breath in relief as he watched her saunter out of the room.

Then Neo poked him in the ribs with her parasol.

"Ow—hey! What was that for?"

The dwarf in question simply gave him an annoyed look.

" _Why would you test her like that?"_

"My bad!" He quickly apologized, "I just got a little wound up, that's all."

Neo just shook her head.

" _You're lucky she didn't just roast you on the spot."_

"Don't remind me," Roman dryly bit out, "I think I might've lost a couple years of my life from that."

Cinder Fall was definitely someone that you didn't want to play the game against. Not unless you happened to have a stacked deck, and even then. But, Roman liked to consider himself an opportunist, so when an opportunity presented himself, he'd take it. He might not have a stacked deck, but the wild card that he did have in his hand was probably even better.

So, he'd play his part for now. He'd dutifully obey her orders like that street rat brat and her disabled buddy. But, when the time came for him to play his hand?

Roman could feel his lips begin to part into a Cheshire cat like smile.

He was going to stab Cinder Fall in the back with the biggest goddamn dagger he could find.

And he was going to enjoy every single second of it.

After all, you know what they say, there's no honor among thieves.

* * *

Author's Notes: And with that, all the players have been assembled. Let the games begin.

As usual, thank you for all the support and reviews. Reading them always provides a nice boost to my motivation. Oh, and thanks to my Beta as usual. Until next time~

-SFX


	7. Chapter 7: Midnight Blues

**Chapter 7-**

 **Midnight Blues**

* * *

Fridays usually tended to be the busiest night of the week and today was no different. The influx of customers seemed to only increase as the night went on. At one point in time, they were actually at overcapacity and customers had to either get take out or wait for a table to open up. It was pretty obvious that a staff of two was severely under-equipped to deal with this many people.

For Charlotte, that simply meant that they would have to work that much harder in order to make up for the lack of extra staff.

So, when the last of the influx of customers were finally gone, and the few remaining ones were preparing to leave, he let out a breath in relief as he took a seat at a free table. He simply leaned back on his chair and watched as the last of the customers finished their meals.

Charlotte soon joined him as she pulled out a nearby chair as well. He did not miss the rather large bottle of alcohol in her hand. It was almost a ritual for her at this point to get drunk at the end of the work week. The woman had a tired look on her face, but it was one that oozed contentment rather than weariness.

"Talk about one heck of a day huh?" Charlotte eventually asked, "Ain't the Vytal festival just a great thing?"

"Perhaps," He replied, "I'm sure you don't mind the extra income."

"Oh yeah, I definitely don't mind that part, not one bit."

He had expected as much. The Vytal festival was only a couple weeks away and people from around the kingdoms were beginning to pour into the city to partake in the festivities. Businesses were in a sense, booming; as much as they could with all the White Fang activity that had been transpiring anyway.

"So, what's all this I've been hearing about you going to a dance?" She grinned, "Gimme all the details."

He gave her a pointed look.

"You've been eavesdropping."

"Who me? Nah, I would never!" Charlotte slyly replied, "I just happened to be walking by the table at certain times."

He gave her another look, this time it was one that was filled with pure incredulity. The woman just grinned in response before she took another shot from her liquor bottle.

"Eh, don't sweat the details!" She eventually waved off, "I'm surprised though; I couldn't imagine you going to a dance."

He simply sighed.

"I got… talked into it."

Charlotte just laughed.

"Lemme guess, it was the blonde one right?"

He nodded.

"I thought so," She chuckled, "So, you going after we close up shop?"

He nodded once more.

"Hmm… Wait," Charlotte paused, "Do you even own a suit Minato? I've seen your closet and it's about as bland as bland can be."

He wasn't sure if he should take that as a compliment or as an insult. Knowing his boss, it was probably neither.

"Well whatever, I'm sure you've got it taken care of. So, are you going with your girlfriend?" She slyly pressed on, "Is it the blonde one? Or maybe it's one of her friends?"

He tried to resist the urge to massage his temples, but the instinct to do so soon took over. Why was it that she was so interested in his social life? He blamed the alcohol.

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"Really? How boring," Charlotte pouted, "Well, I suppose that's to be expected. It is _you_ after all."

He wasn't sure what to make of that, so he didn't say anything at all. His boss simply took another sip before her eyes appeared to light up. He could see the corners of her lips begin to curve upwards into a very smug looking grin.

To his surprise, she stood up and walked into the kitchen. When she returned, it was with two clear glass cups. With a surprising amount of grace, he watched as Charlotte poured the alcoholic beverage into the glasses.

When a glass filled to the brim with a liquid of a golden hue was gently nudged towards him, he raised an eyebrow.

"Come on now, you can't go to one of these things sober now can you?"

On the contrary, he could and would very much prefer to.

"Come on Minato, live a little why don't you?" The woman insisted, "As your boss, I order you to take a shot!"

"I don't think drinking is a part of my job description," He dryly pointed out.

"Stop being a stick in the mud and just take the shot already. You're supposed to listen to your elders aren't you? I already poured it anyway."

He sighed as he eyed the glass wearily. He really hoped that he wouldn't come to regret this. In one smooth motion, he grabbed the glass and downed the drink. The liquor burned in his throat and the after taste made him want to gag.

"Too strong?"

He vehemently nodded.

"Hmm… Guess I should've mixed it for you," Charlotte said, "Well, you still finished it, so whatever. Now get outta here; you don't want to keep the ladies waiting right?"

"What about the store?" He pointed out.

"Don't worry about it," She waved off, "We're pretty much done here anyway. I can close up shop on my own."

"…Are you sure?" He hesitantly asked, "I can stay, it's not an issue."

"Yeah, don't worry about it," She brushed off again, "Now stop trying to stall and get outta here already Minato."

…

Charlotte really did know how to read him too well.

* * *

To say that the dance was a jovial event would be an understatement. Colorful decorations and upbeat music ruled the room. Various foods and drinks were laid about, free for anyone to partake in, should they so choose. Truly, the dance was a joyful event, and the delighted faces on the masses only further cemented that fact.

Emerald had only been here for a little over an hour and she already hated everybody in the building.

All these sheltered brats enjoying themselves without a care in the world. She doubted that any of them had ever dealt with a single hardship in their entitled lives.

"What, our social butterfly isn't enjoying herself at the dance?"

She scowled.

"Shut up Mercury."

"I'm guessing that's a no then," Mercury smirked, "Would a dance with me help you feel better?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Shut up Mercury."

Her silver-haired partner simply shrugged, with that smug smirk ever present on his face.

"Whatever, you know you want me."

"You're right Mercury, I do want you," Emerald briskly replied, "I want you to shut up for once."

Mercury, to his credit, actually seemed to give the idea some thought.

"Hmm… Nah, that wouldn't be any fun."

Emerald had to try really hard to resist the urge to strangle the boy. Mercury was without a doubt useful, but he was also an annoying wise-ass. An annoying wise-ass that seemed to have taken a liking to bothering her.

Her luck really was terrible.

Still, she shouldn't complain, it could probably be a lot worse. She could've been partnered up with Roman for one. Emerald couldn't help but grimace at the thought. Mercury was annoying, but Roman was absolutely infuriating.

"This is so boring."

Emerald ignored him and went back to watching the students mingle on the first floor. If there was one thing she learned from working with Mercury all these years, it's that when all else fails, ignore him.

So, she watched as her "peers" milled about, attempting to awkwardly socialize with one another. If this wasn't a direct order from Cinder, she'd never attend one of these events. Mercury was right about one thing, it was completely and utterly _boring_.

Then the main doors began to slowly creep open.

When she saw who it was, her eyes grew wide in apprehension. Dull grey irises appeared to scour the room. When those eyes began to look upwards, towards the second floor, Emerald jumped back and all but tackled Mercury into a nearby wall.

The silver-haired boy raised an eyebrow in surprise for a brief moment before his features quickly reset back to his usual smug-like smirk.

"I knew you wanted me."

"Shut up Mercury," She narrowed her eyes, "You won't believe who I just saw walk into the building."

"Try me."

"The guy from the bookstore," Emerald said in a hushed tone, "The one that helped Tukson escape."

Something seemed to flash across the boy's eyes, but it was so brief that she couldn't be sure.

"... Should we tell Cinder?"

Emerald nodded before she unpinned the silver-haired boy from the wall. She took out her scroll and dialed in a number that she remembered by heart. It only took three rings before someone picked up.

"What is it?"

The voice that came through was one that brought her great comfort.

"We might have a… Problem."

"A problem…?" Cinder's voice paused, "Explain."

"Minato Arisato, he's here."

There was no response and for a moment, Emerald thought that her scroll's battery had died.

"It doesn't matter," Cinder eventually replied, "We'll proceed with the plan. I'm sure you two can keep out of sight."

Then the call dropped. Emerald stared at the screen for a moment, before pocketing the device. If Cinder wasn't worried, then she had no business being worried.

"Well?" Mercury questioned, "What are we going to do?"

"We proceed with the plan," She quickly replied, "And we stay out of his sight."

Mercury sighed.

"Looks like it's going to be another boring night."

"That's how it was going to be to begin with."

"Well…" The boy smirked again, "I could make it interesting."

Emerald frowned, she recognized that look on his face.

"Don't even think about it Mercury," She muttered, "He's out of your league."

"Nah, I wouldn't say that," He brushed off, "He just caught me by surprise last time, that's all."

"Mercury," She bit out, "You heard Cinder's orders."

"Yeah, yeah. You're no fun today."

"Shut up Mercury. We still have a job to do."

* * *

He tugged at the bow-tie around his neck one more time as he walked down the stairs of the airship. Unlike the bow-tie ribbon that used to rest around his collar on his high school uniform, this one was a bit more restricting. While it was not an uncomfortable feeling, it was an unfamiliar one.

The rest of his outfit was nothing extravagant. He wore a simple black suit with matching shoes. The tailor had suggested some brighter colors but he stood firm in his selections. A darker color scheme had always been more of his style.

The Beacon Academy grounds were massive. It was almost like he was stepping foot onto Gekkoukan High once more. While the architecture at Gekkoukan High had a more polished look, the buildings at Beacon Academy seemed to prefer a more scenic approach.

They both looked amazing regardless.

Eventually, through the help of a couple of nearby directories, he was able to find his way to the ballroom. The ballroom was a massive building in its own right, with a pair of large wooden doors that stood as the entrance.

He allowed himself one last look at the surrounding scenery before he made his way into the building. He slowly pushed the doors open and took a glance inside.

"Wow, you actually came."

Yang Xiao Long gave him a brief look of surprise before she scribbled something down on the podium in front of her.

"Were you not the one that told me to come?" He dryly asked.

"Yeah, but I was starting to wonder, since it took you so long to get here."

"It was a busy day at work," He quickly replied.

"Well whatever, it's all good, for the host has forgiven you," She grinned as she grabbed him by the arm, "Nice suit by the way Blue, you clean up well."

He resigned himself to allowing the fiery girl to drag him along as he took a look around the ballroom. Students of many different backgrounds were dancing and socializing with one another. A couple of familiar faces stood out in the crowd and waved. Among them was the rest of team RWBY.

When the blonde-haired girl finally came to a stop, he found himself standing in the middle of the dance floor. A dozen or so other students and their partners were already dancing to the music. He watched as people glided along the dance floor in a way that reminded him of a Waltz.

And then, for the first time tonight, he got a good look at his dance partner.

Yang Xiao Long was beautiful. She was beautiful in a way that he could only describe as radiant. The girl exuded an aura of warmth that reminded him of the sun.

"Something the matter Blue?" The blonde-haired girl asked, "You look you spaced out there for a second."

He blinked.

"It's nothing," He replied, "I was just thinking."

She put her hand around his shoulder, and in return, he put his hand behind her back.

And then, she began to move. It was a slow song, and for that, he was grateful. It made it a lot easier for him to mimic her steps.

"Oh yeah? What about?" She asked with curiosity evident in her voice.

"About how beautiful you look tonight."

…

While that thought might have crossed his mind, he hadn't meant to blurt it out like that. He blamed the alcohol. This was probably Charlotte's plan all along…

Yang only gave a sly grin.

"Oh ho? Since when were you this smooth Blue? Plus ten points!"

He raised an eyebrow as they continued to slowly move along to the melody. While he had no idea what he was doing, he was able to follow along with her pace.

"I am being graded now?"

"Yep!" She cheerily replied, "Score high enough Yang points and you'll get a prize."

Yang points?

He felt the edge of his lips twitch in amusement.

"And what would this prize be?"

She grinned.

"You'll get to take me out to dinner."

"I see," He slowly nodded, "And am I supposed to want to win this prize?"

"Boo! Wrong answer Blue, minus twenty points."

He felt the corners of his mouth begin to break into an amused smile.

"Sorry, I don't think that I'm very good at this game."

"Mmm…." Yang hummed as she drew herself even closer and stared at him, "I don't believe you."

He raised an eyebrow once more. She was close enough that their noses almost touched. He could actually make out the lilac in her irises and the faint scent of sunflowers in her perfume.

"Yeah, no way," The girl continued, "Normally, guys would've been beyond flustered by now."

Yang gave him an appraising look before she finally backed away.

"Yeah, I bet you're a lady killer Blue," The girl nodded, as if reaffirming her thoughts.

He wasn't sure what to say to that, so he didn't say anything at all. They danced for another minute or so until the song finally came to an end. Amazingly enough, he hadn't made a fool of himself.

"Well, thanks for the dance, but I better get back to work. Don't have too much fun without me now Blue~"

He watched as she sauntered away, back towards her post at the podium. A yawn threatened to break loose before he stifled it. Buzzed or not, the fatigue of the work day was finally starting to hit him.

He needed a nap.

* * *

He found himself sitting in a corner of the room watching as different pairs of students cycled throughout the dance floor. Were it not for the loud music, he would have probably dozed off a good while ago. The slow tunes from before had been replaced with more upbeat songs and what had once been a familiar type of Waltz was now a bunch of rather eccentric movements that they called dancing.

Maybe if he tried hard enough, he could tune out the noise and get some sleep.

"You were the last person that I expected to see here."

Drooping eyelids were soon forced back open and focused in on the white-haired girl that had taken the empty seat to his right. Weiss Schnee was beautiful in her own way. Hers was a cold, frigid type of beauty. It was one that reminded him of Mitsuru.

"I didn't expect to be here."

"And yet, here you are," Weiss pointed out, "Why is that?"

"Yang Xiao Long," He drawled.

"So she's told me," The white-haired girl nodded, "I am rather curious as to how that came to be. You don't strike me as the ballroom-dancer type of person."

"Believe me, I am not," He dryly replied, "Your teammate can be very… Persuasive."

"Yes, I can see that," She agreed, "At the very least, have you been able to enjoy yourself?"

He thought about it.

"It has been… An interesting experience. Your team did a good job in setting everything up."

"Thank you. Although, it was mostly Yang and I," Weiss corrected, "Ruby is not… Exactly useful when it comes to matters such as these and Blake spent most of her time researching."

"Is she at least getting some sleep now?"

"She is pacing herself much better now," Weiss replied, "Thank you for that, by the way."

He waved her off.

"I didn't do much."

"On the contrary, you did quite a lot. We were getting quite worried about her you know."

He simply shrugged as his eyes scanned through the masses before they finally settled onto a familiar cat Faunus. She appeared to be dancing with the Faunus boy that had been with her at the warehouse.

"She seems to be enjoying herself," He pointed out.

"I am not surprised. As crass as Sun can be, she seems to enjoy being around him," The Schnee heiress explained, "I am willing to bet that she's glad to have attended the dance now."

"Speaking of dance, should you not be out there as well?" He asked, "I assumed that you would enjoy settings like these."

She sighed.

"You would not be wrong. The only problem is that I do not have a partner."

He raised an eyebrow at that.

"I would assume that someone of your status would have a lot of suitors."

"Far too many in my opinion," The girl muttered, "I do not care for those that would pursue me simply for my status as a Schnee."

He couldn't help but think that she really was similar to Mitsuru.

"So you came alone?" He asked.

"I was not planning on it, but yes, that is how it turned out."

The tone in her voice seemed to suggest that it was a topic of discussion that should not be continued. He was fine with that, he was never one to pry anyway.

The conversation soon died out and they sat in silence. He watched as the next batch of students began to cycle onto the dance floor. The upbeat music from before had now been replaced with a familiar slow tune once more. It was a rather sudden change.

"That was quite the tone shift in music," He dryly pointed out.

"You can blame Yang for that," Weiss replied, "She insisted on having _modern_ music, even though it's _supposed_ to be ballroom dancing."

"I'm guessing this track is one of your choosing?"

"Naturally," She supplied, "Is it not to your liking?"

"No, I like it."

Classical music had always been one of his favorites.

"It's rather refreshing to finally meet someone with good taste."

He could feel his mouth twitch in amusement.

"Your teammates are not fans of classical?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Could you imagine Ruby listening to classical?"

He tried to picture it.

"Probably not."

"And you would be right about that. It is a pity though, this song is one of my favorites."

He could see why, for the tune was as elegant as it was lively.

"Would you like to dance then?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"What happened to not being a ballroom-dancing type of person?"

"I'm not, but it seemed like you wanted to dance," He pointed out.

"How very gentlemanly of you," A small smile managed to find its way onto her face, "Alright then, let's dance."

He took her outstretched hand and led her onto the dance floor, like how he had seen so many had done before him. A dainty hand rested around his shoulder while his own hand found its place around her waist. It was a familiar position, one that he had been in a mere hour ago and yet, it felt completely different. While Yang had preferred a more relaxed posture, Weiss adopted a much more prim and proper style.

As they began to move along to the music, the differences between the two only further cemented themselves.

"You aren't bad for someone that doesn't dance."

He shrugged, about as much as he could in his position anyway.

"You can tell?"

"Of course," She answered, "Anyone experienced in dance can tell when someone is simply mimicking the movements of their partner. You are lucky that it's a slow song."

"That's why I didn't ask you until they changed the song."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow once more, "I did not take you for someone that cared about their image."

"I don't, but looking like a fool and not fitting in draws attention," He explained, "I dislike drawing attention."

"Ah, an introvert? You and Blake are similar in that regard."

"Perhaps."

Following along after Weiss was not as difficult as it was with Yang. Rather than the free spirited style that Yang moved about with, Weiss preferred a much more mechanical-like approach to dancing. That made it a lot easier to predict and move along with.

Because of their close proximity with one another, he couldn't help but notice how her eyes seemed to almost light up.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself."

"Oh, I am," She graciously replied, "Dancing has always been something that I've enjoyed, so I was quite happy when you asked me."

She flashed him a dazzling smile. It was a smile that he had not thought that the Schnee heiress was capable of making. Weiss possessed a frosty personality, so a smile like that was probably as rare as a perfectly shaped snowflake on a winter day.

That simply made her smile look all the more beautiful.

"W-what are you saying all of a sudden?!"

He blinked.

Had he said that last part out loud?

The slight reddening of her cheeks only seemed to further cement that fact.

…

He blamed the alcohol. Truly, he did.

He had a feeling that a certain blonde woman somewhere out there was probably having a laughing fit right about now. He couldn't help but feel an eyebrow twitch in annoyance at the thought.

…

He was never drinking again.

* * *

She had found him hiding out by the balcony.

"Oh my, I didn't expect there to be someone else here."

It was a voice that he wasn't familiar with. The first thing that he noticed about the girl was her stature. She was taller than him, by a good margin no less. Then, he noticed her flaming red hair and bright green irises. The circlet that rested atop her head almost seemed fitting.

"Do you mind if I stay out here too?"

He simply shook his head.

"Thank you," The girl gave him a pleasant smile, "Trying to take a breather from all the dancing?"

He nodded this time.

"You don't talk much do you?"

He nodded again.

After the incident with Weiss, he had decided that it would probably be wise to try to speak as little as possible. He'd rather not embarrass himself any further than he already did.

"Well, you can at least say your name right?" The girl politely asked, "I'm Pyrrha by the way."

"… Minato."

"It's nice to meet you Minato."

She held out her hand. He stared at it for a brief moment before his own hand reached out and clasped it.

"Likewise."

Pyrrha gave him another pleasant smile before she turned her attention towards the view. The girl wore a smile, but he didn't miss the almost discouraged look in her eyes. Or perhaps it was disappointment?

When he heard someone else start trekking up the staircase, he was met with yet another unfamiliar face. This time, it was a blonde-haired boy. He seemed to have an almost hesitant look on his face.

"Hey, Pyrrha."

He watched as the girl seemed to visibly tense up for a brief moment before she regained her composure and turned around.

"Oh, hello Jaune."

The atmosphere in the air seemed to get rather tense.

"You alright?" Jaune asked, "I haven't really seen you tonight."

"Ah, that's because I arrived late."

"Oh," The boy said as he rubbed the back of his head, "Well, you look really nice."

"Oh, uhm, thank you."

He started to very much feel like a third wheel.

Jaune apparently seemed to have taken notice of his discomfort and gave a friendly grin.

"Oh, hey. You must be Pyrrha's date," The blonde-haired boy greeted, "I'm Jaune, her teammate."

He raised an eyebrow at the misunderstanding and was about to correct the boy before Pyrrha jumped in between them.

"W-what? N-no! I came alone Jaune!" She stammered.

His raised eyebrow began to rise up even higher.

"Oh! Uhm, t-that's not to say that you wouldn't make a good date," The girl continued, obviously flustered, "I'm sure that you're a very nice guy Minato, but–"

He decided to interrupt her before things got even more out of control.

"She's not my date."

Jaune blinked.

"Oh. Then uh, where is the guy?"

Pyrrha seemed to almost deflate at the question.

"… There is no guy Jaune. Nobody asked me."

Jaune blinked again.

"What? But that's… I mean… You're Pyrrha Nikos!"

"And that's the problem Jaune... Everyone assumes I'm too good for them."

He watched the ongoing exchange with mild discomfort, as he couldn't shake the feeling that he was intruding on something that should've very well been private. Once Pyrrha had made her point, she walked away. He didn't miss the disappointment that was now very clearly evident on her face as she passed by him.

Jaune only stood there with a hesitant look on his face.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" He eventually asked.

"I mean…" Jaune tentatively began, "Should I?"

"Probably," He evenly replied, "Since she seems to want you to."

Jaune blinked, for the third time.

"She does?"

He raised an eyebrow. Jaune couldn't be that dense, could he? Although, judging from the look on his face, he probably was.

"Yes," He nodded, "You should probably go after her. Right now."

After a brief moment, Jaune just nodded and murmured a quick thank you as the blonde-haired boy brushed past him.

Hopefully they would manage to get their… Issues resolved.

He walked over towards the edge of the balcony and placed his hands on the railing. He couldn't help but think about how truly wrong this world was. Young people like Jaune and Pyrrha, even as young as Ruby, they were training to be the protectors of this world. Willingly even.

He wasn't a fool, he understood where humanity stood.

In this world, the Grimm were an ever constant threat, and the few havens of human society were kept firmly trapped inside the walls of the kingdoms. The thought had crossed his mind, to go and do something about it. But, the Grimm were not like the Shadows of Tartarus, they were not confined within the walls of a tower; rather it was humanity that were the ones confined.

He certainly had the power to kill Grimm, but power by itself was useless. The Grimm were not a threat that one person could defeat. Every Grimm that he could kill, another would easily soon take its place; it was a never ending cycle. It was not a scenario like Tartarus where there was a clear goal in mind.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he had not noticed someone else here, not until they stood right next to him. He was surprised by the figure, for it was not a student. White hair and a pair of round glasses framed his face. It was a face that he knew well, the man was quite the famous individual after all.

"Do you like the view?"

He had expected many things, but not a simple question like that.

"It is… Nice."

"Beacon was founded a little over eighty years ago," The man explained, "Although, there were many renovations that were done over the years to create what we have today."

He was not sure how to respond to that, so he kept his silence. A somewhat tense silence seemed to fill up the atmosphere. Eventually, the man decided to break said silence.

"You are not a student."

It was a clear statement, but not an accusatory one.

"I am not," He nodded in agreement.

"You were invited then?" The man asked, "By one of my students?"

He nodded again.

"I am curious as to how that came to be."

He hesitated.

"It is… Complicated."

"Complicated enough to involve a White Fang rally?"

He blinked once, before he fully turned to regard the man by his side for the first time. The headmaster of Beacon Academy stood a good head and shoulders over him. There was something there in his eyes, but he could not determine what.

The man hid his intentions well.

"I am being watched?" He eventually asked.

"Oh no, not you," The headmaster clarified.

Ah, so that was it.

"Team RWBY."

The man nodded, reaffirming his thoughts.

"I like to keep an eye on my students."

In retrospect, he should have expected that. Blake and her friends were not normal girls after all; they were Huntsmen-in-training. It should've of come as no surprise that they would be heavily monitored.

Huntsmen were a rare commodity in the world.

"I am not sure what to think of you, Minato Arisato."

He was not sure what to think of the headmaster either. He was never a fan of the cloak-and-dagger act.

"It seems that we are at an impasse then," The man smiled.

He blinked. He blinked and then he began to message his temples. He had not meant to say that last part out loud. He was going to get Charlotte back for this…

"Ah, excuse me for a moment," The headmaster said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a scroll, "… Yes? … I see— Alright."

He raised an eyebrow, but otherwise kept his silence.

"It seems that I will have to cut our conversation short. Something has come up that I must attend to," The headmaster began, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Arisato."

He gave the man a guarded expression, but nodded anyway.

"… Likewise."

The man simply gave him a small smile.

"I'm sure that we will meet again in the future."

* * *

Thankfully, the rest of the dance had gone by without any more slip-ups on his part.

He was not sure what to think when Jaune had come back to the dance floor wearing a dress that was probably much too small for him. It was a sight that he would rather erase from his memory if possible. Maybe he _should_ start drinking…

At the very least, Jaune and Pyrrha seemed to have sorted out their problems. Judging by the rather merry look on their faces, it seemed that everything had turned out alright for them in the end.

Blake looked like she had finally managed to relax a little. The pleased expression on her face did little to go against the thought. It seemed like she and Sun have very good chemistry together. Weiss seemed to have started to enjoy herself as well, as she seemed to be having an interesting conversation with Yang by the podium at the front.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder where Ruby was the entire time? He could not recall seeing her here, and no matter how many people were here, he should've run into her by now regardless.

Perhaps she had not come?

"Hello, would you care for a dance?"

He blinked.

The voice was an unfamiliar one to him. He did not recognize the girl. A dainty little hand was held out in front of him while an alluring smile rested on the girl's face. She was beautiful. She was beautiful in a way that he was unfamiliar with. It was a cold, almost cruel type of beauty, and yet, it was stunning nonetheless.

He bit down on his tongue just in case he decided to blurt out any more of his alcohol induced thoughts. Charlotte wasn't going to get him for a third time. He had committed enough social suicide for the day.

So, he simply took the outstretched hand into one of his own. And for the third time of the night, he found himself on the dance floor once more. Although this time, it was with a girl that he did not know.

The song was a bit quicker than the ones before, but he had enough practice now to at least be able to not stumble over himself. It helped that the woman by his side seemed to move with almost deliberate slowness.

"Ah, but where are my manners? I am Ella."

He responded in kind with his own name.

"Minato."

"So, tell me Minato," The name seemed to roll off her tongue, "Which academy are you from?"

He hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to answer that question.

"I am not a Huntsman," He eventually replied.

"Oh?" Ella seemed to have a look of surprise on her face, "Do tell. I was under the impression that this was a dance for the students."

"I was… Invited to come by a friend."

"Mmm… I see," She slowly replied.

The rest of the dance continued in silence, not that he minded. It was best to keep his mouth shut before he decided to voice out even more ridiculous thoughts.

Eventually, the song soon came to an end.

"Thank you for the dance. It's been a pleasure meeting you Minato."

Ella gave a little curtsy.

"Likewise," He replied as he returned with a small bow of his own.

The girl gave one final alluring smile before she disappeared into the crowd. He was not sure what to think of what had just transpired. He supposed that it was a rather… Interesting encounter to end the night with.

A tap on his shoulder took him out of his thoughts.

A familiar mess of blonde hair was the first thing that he noticed. Yang Xiao Long simply gave him a grin. He had an inkling about what she wanted.

"How about one last dance for the road Blue?"

* * *

When he finally made it back home, he felt like making a beeline straight for his bed. He would've too, after changing out of his attire, were it not for the fact that his scroll had decided to ring.

At two in the morning no less.

He had half a mind to ignore the call, but after the fourth ring, he relented and hit the answer key.

"… Hello?"

The words slipped out in a curtness that was not like him. He was not sure whether to blame that on the alcohol or his weariness.

"This not a good time kid?"

He suddenly felt a headache begin to come on after he heard the voice that came through his scroll's speakers.

"It is 2 A.M. Roman."

"Since when did kids like you sleep early anyway?"

He resisted the urge to massage his temples. He didn't even want to know how the man had managed to get his number. He had a feeling that it was because of a certain colorful girl.

"What do you want?" He briskly asked.

"Yeah… About that, we might have a bit of a problem kid."

He blinked.

"A problem?"

There was a pause on the phone, and what seemed to be a bit of a scuffle. A resounding _bang_ that sounded eerily like a gunshot soon put an end to the noise. He frowned.

"… Roman?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. There was a little distraction that I had to take care of," The thief eventually replied, "Anyway, what do you know about Mountain Glen kid?"

* * *

Author's Notes- I'm terrible at writing stuff like this, but I couldn't help myself. It wouldn't be a Persona story without social shenanigans like this. Hopefully your eyes won't bleed from reading it, lol. The chapter's a good deal longer than usual, but I don't expect this to be a common thing in the future.

As usual, thank you all for the love. Things may or may not be slowing down in the future, as the semester has started for me. But, I'll try my best to keep at it!

-SFX


	8. Chapter 8: Howl of the Beast

**Chapter 8-**

 **Howl of the Beast**

* * *

He disliked venturing outside the walls of the city.

It only served as a grim reminder as to what kind of state this world was actually in. Inside the protective enclosure of the city, you wouldn't know about the dangers that stood outside beyond those walls. Once you ventured outside however, past the safe confines of the city's boundaries, that illusion of peace quickly shatters.

Remnant was a harsh, unforgiving world.

It was a world that was fraught with dangers and perils of all kinds. The creatures of Grimm roamed about, ever vigilant in search of their prey, of their very specific prey. Of Humans and Faunus to be precise, the Grimm did not seem to hold any animosity towards any of the other creatures of the world. The wildlife and Fauna of Remnant were left mostly untouched.

They were mysterious creatures, the Grimm. They came in many different shapes and sizes. Their species so numerous that new types of Grimm are discovered constantly. They do not possess the need for food or sleep and are said to be the only creatures in existence that do not possess souls.

What they do possess is an inexplicable animosity towards humanity as a whole.

They reminded him all too much of the Shadows from the Dark Hour, from the masks that they all donned to the way they both seemed to be attracted towards negative human emotions. Were it not for the fact that the Dark Hour did not exist here, he would have assumed the Grimm to be Shadows from the start.

The vehicle soon came to a slow but steady halt.

Commercial airlines didn't offer stops to abandoned ruins in the middle of nowhere. The only way that one was getting an airship to take them to Mountain Glen was if they were either a wealthy enough individual to purchase one on their own or if they were a Huntsman. He was neither, so he had to get rather creative in regards to his transportation.

"Ah man… We finally made it!"

The source of the coarse voice that sat at his side let out a long-winded yawn. Hayden Rivers was a traveling merchant, a trader to be exact. The man traveled from settlement to settlement, buying and selling off goods whenever it would net him a profit.

He had stumbled upon Hayden by chance; the older Faunus man had heard about his search and offered passage in his truck since he was apparently headed in the direction of Mountain Glen. While the price of passage was a little on the steep side, it had taken him so long to find anyone that was willing to provide transportation beyond the walls that he couldn't help but accept the offer.

"And now we just have to wait for one of these bozos to open the damn gate already."

Hayden had a bored look on his face as he rolled down his window. He did not miss how the dog-like ears atop Hayden's head appeared to twitch in annoyance as the older man began to drum his fingers against the dashboard.

The small town in front of them was one of the many frontier settlements scattered throughout the continent. Large walls along with watchtowers formed a protective barrier around the small community, and he could make out a couple of figures patrolling atop the town's walls. The town guard most likely, as he doubted that there would be Huntsmen acting as guards for frontier towns such as this.

Eventually, the gates finally opened and they were allowed inside.

The truck's Dust-powered engine revved back to life as its reinforced tires begin to roll across the gravel. If he were to compare the town to Vale, it would be a sad comparison. Most of the buildings here were small, almost bleak looking things. These were buildings that were created out of pure necessity rather than for comfort or beauty.

He did not miss how a good deal of the village's population appeared to be of Faunus descent. Considering the status quo of the world, this did not surprise him. On paper, the Faunus might have been considered as equals, but in reality that wasn't the case. For some people, the safety offered by a major city's walls weren't worth the racism and discrimination.

The truck soon came to a stop once more.

He slowly stepped out of the vehicle and gingerly stretched out his limbs. It had been a long ride, much too long for his tastes. Hayden, to his credit looked no worse for wear. That was probably to be expected, since the older man apparently routinely made long trips like these for a living.

"Well, looks like this is where we part ways," Hayden casually remarked.

"Yes, I suppose that it is," He replied, "Thank you for the ride."

"Hey, no need to thank me," Hayden gave an amused grin, "It's not like I did it for free or anything."

"Nonetheless, you have my thanks."

The older Faunus crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against his truck.

"So, you want to remind me why the hell you're heading out to those ruins for?"

He paused for a moment as he thought about how he wanted to answer that question.

"Personal reasons."

Hayden gave him a long look before eventually breaking off into a shrug.

"Well whatever, it's not any of my business anyway."

Hayden was right and he would very much like to keep it that way as well. This was not something that he wanted to get others involved with, especially not civilians.

"Still though," Hayden began, "If you're adamant about heading off the main roads towards those ruins, I'd suggest you do it in the morning, a lot less dangerous that way. There's an inn here where you can spend the night."

He glanced up towards the sky. The sun was beginning to set and night would soon fall. From what Roman had told him, the White Fang were still a few days off from finishing their plans, so he had some time to spare. With how large scale this operation appeared to be, he wouldn't be doing himself any favors were he to arrive there exhausted from pushing himself too hard.

It got much too cold at night for travel anyway, far too cold for his tastes.

* * *

The inn was a dreary looking place. The outside of the building looked so run-down that he was surprised it was still even standing. The inside wasn't much better, with wooden planks that seemed to have been hurriedly bolted in over the various puncture wounds and breaches throughout the building's walls. It was almost like trying to use a Band-Aid to treat a stab wound.

It wasn't a pretty sight.

He'd slept in worse places though, so it didn't matter much to him. As long as there was a roof over his head, he wouldn't complain. As long as that roof didn't fall apart while he was staying under it anyway. Though, with how ramshackle the place looked, he wouldn't deny that as a very real possibility…

"Here you are sir, sorry for the wait."

The innkeeper gave a warm smile as she sat the bowl of soup down on the counter in front of him. It was a murky color, and while it smelled of chicken, he wasn't exactly sure if it was actually chicken soup. Nonetheless, he was famished enough that as long as it looked somewhat edible, he wouldn't mind too much.

"Thank you."

The innkeeper gave a quick nod in response before walking off, to serve the other customers most likely. While it wasn't exactly a full house, there was still a good amount of people here. Most of the tables and bar counter stools were filled with all kinds of different people ranging from travelers like himself to the actual townsfolk, as well as some rather shady looking individuals. He didn't pay them much mind though, there were bound to be some less than respectable people out here beyond the walls.

To his surprise, the soup actually tasted pretty good. Now whether that was due to how hungry he was or if it was actually that well-made, he wasn't sure. Still, it tasted good enough and food was food.

People continued to shuffle about as he continued to eat. The sounds of the various conversations and chatter that he could pick up reminded him of the café. The inn might have been a dreary looking place, but the people more than made up for it with their liveliness. It was almost like a mixing pot of individuals of all kinds, and he couldn't help but think about how peaceful the atmosphere seemed to be in spite of the terrible conditions of the place.

The peace was promptly broken when the dilapidated door of the inn slammed open with such force that he was afraid that the entire building might have come down on them all. It was a raggedly looking man that seemed just shy of six feet. A silver colored necklace hung from his neck, and he couldn't help but be surprised at the distinct design of it, a Christian cross.

Although what really managed to catch his eye was the large metallic looking blade that seemed to hang by the man's side.

That man was a huntsman.

People gave various looks, some of surprise and some of contempt. After a brief moment, the initial hubbub seemed to wear off and the chatter along with the peaceful atmosphere from before returned once more.

The man appeared to squint his eyes as he glanced around the room, no doubt in search of an empty seat. Eventually, it appeared that the man's eyes settled onto a stool by the counter. A stool by the counter that just so happened to be right next to him.

He watched as the man seemed to almost clumsily shuffle through the room before he haphazardly all but fell onto the stool.

"Hey innkeeper!" The man slurred, "Gimme a glass of your strongest stuff."

Despite the fact that the man in question was not even looking towards him, he couldn't help but feel his nose wrinkle in disgust. He could smell the man's breath from here and it reeked of the foul odor of alcohol. The man was without a doubt, drunk.

And he was ordering more alcohol.

Perhaps he was wrong in his initial assumption of the man being a huntsman. The man definitely didn't portray himself in a way that a huntsman probably should. Not with how he appeared to be roaring drunk as he continued to hit on the innkeeper with a lopsided smirk.

He turned his attention back towards his meal. He had to give the man one thing, he sure knew how to draw people's attention, for better or for worse.

…

"What's a brat like you doing way out here in this shit hole?"

He was about halfway finished with his meal when the drunkard spoke to him. He put down his spoon and turned his head to truly regard the man sitting by his side for the first time. A messy unkempt head of hair much like his own and eyes as red as the tattered cloak that hung from his shoulders stared back.

"Should I not be here?"

"Hey," The man slurred, "I asked you a question first."

He supposed that the man did have a point.

"Personal reasons."

"That's a shitty answer."

It was, but it didn't matter; he wasn't entitled to share anything with this man. So he didn't, and instead turned his attention back towards his soup. It was getting quite cold after all, and nobody enjoyed eating a cold meal.

"You don't belong here."

He paused at that, stopping the spoon a mere inch away from his mouth before slowly putting the eating utensil back down on the counter. It was a simple statement, but it was a heavy handed one that held many potential meanings.

What were once unfocused red eyes were now as sharp as the blade that appeared to be rested beneath the man's tattered cloak. It was as if the man's entire demeanor had undergone a complete change in a matter of moments. He couldn't help but wonder how the man managed that in spite of the fact that he was roaring drunk a mere moment ago.

"And what," He slowly began, "Makes you say that?"

The red-eyed man snorted, as though he had just heard an amusing joke.

"Come on now kid, have you looked in a mirror? With nice prim and proper clothes like that? You stick out here like a sore thumb."

Ah, so that was what the man was alluding too. He supposed that the red-eyed man had a fair point about that.

"I don't know if you noticed, but you've got the attention of some real shady looking guys here," The red-eyed man continued as he tilted his head towards a corner of the room, "And you know what they see when they look at you? Easy prey."

It wasn't that he didn't notice, but it was rather that he simply didn't bother paying them any attention; after all, they weren't of any real threat to him.

"I know."

"You know," The man dryly repeated, "But you sure don't look worried for someone that might wake up the next morning with empty pockets and a slit throat."

"That is because I'm not worried."

"Well, then that means you're either one of two things," The red-eyed man continued, unperturbed, "You're either just an idiot, or a brat that's gotten in over his head."

The man paused for a moment and reached for his mug. He watched as the man in question downed the rest of the drink in one easy motion before he set the mug back down onto the bar counter. Sharp red eyes were once more zeroed in on him, almost like a glare, but not quite there just yet.

"And you want to know what I think?"

He simply shrugged at that, "Enlighten me then."

"I think that you should hurry up and scamper back home while you still can. Whatever it is that you're looking for out here kid, it ain't worth it. These parts can get real dangerous, with a capital D."

"I can handle myself."

"So you say," The man replied, an amused smile appearing on his face, "But there's a lot more to worry about out here than just some Grimm and a couple of two bit thugs. Trust me on that one kid."

He didn't doubt that.

"Your advice has been noted."

"Noted, but not followed?" The man dryly asked.

"I'm afraid not."

"You're a stubborn little brat aren't ya?" The man sighed, "You remind me of one of my nieces, stubborn as all hell."

He couldn't help but give an amused smile at that.

"Yes, I've been told that I can be quite stubborn."

That was a personal trait of his that had always managed to surprise Ryoji.

"Tch, kids these days," The red-eyed man muttered, "They all think that they can take on the world."

To be fair, he had probably faced worse. Though, that wasn't something anyone apart from SEES would know about. So, he simply shrugged and began to eat once more. Although to his complete and utter disappointment, the soup had gone cold.

How very disheartening.

Amazingly enough, he was able to finish the rest of his meal in silence. The red-eyed man seemed to have grown tired of lecturing him and turned his interest back towards trying to flirt with the innkeeper, although it wasn't to much avail.

He made sure to leave a little extra money on the counter as a tip before taking his leave towards his room to retire for the night.

"Hey kid. Seriously though, watch your back out here."

He paused, and tilted his head over his shoulder. The red-eyed man stared back at him with a look that reminded him all too much of how Shinjiro used to regard them all back at the SEES dormitory. It was like that of an overprotective brother that didn't want you to know he cared.

He simply gave a small amused smile back.

"Of course."

* * *

" _Why did you choose to become a huntress?"_

Why did she choose to become a huntress? _  
_

Because they were considered to be noble warriors? Because they were the good guys? Because they were always fighting for a good cause?

At the end of the day, did any of that even matter?

She'd be fighting against the Grimm, against the bad guys. She'd be helping people, saving them even. But, would that even change anything at all?

Would that fix the issues that plagued their society today?

Blake knew that it wouldn't. She knew that Adam's way, as cold-hearted as it was, was a way that brought results. But no matter what kind of results that way could bring, it was one that she could never condone.

So why? Why did she choose to become a huntress then?

Deep down, she knew why.

" _Are you running away again?"_

It was something that she'd always done. It was something that she'd probably always do. It was a facet of life that was ingrained in her, a part of her soul. Her semblance only served as a bitter reminder of her weakness.

Blake was running away, again. Rather than face Adam and try to change the situation from within, she ran.

It was a distressing thought.

"Blake?" A familiar voice came from behind her, getting louder as she heard the footsteps get closer, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Yang."

Lilac iris's filled with worry soon stared into her own Amber colored ones as Yang Xiao Long plopped down on the floor next to her.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Blake eventually replied, "Just couldn't sleep."

While Yang seemed to be dissatisfied with her answer, the blonde haired girl didn't press any further.

"… You should still try to get some sleep," Her partner softly chided, "I'll get Ruby or Weiss to take watch next."

"No, it's fine Yang. I'm fine, I got it."

Slowly, she stood up and dusted herself off as she began to make her way over towards the vantage point of the ruined building they had made camp in. The cold air outside caused her to shiver, leaving the warm confines of the campfire lit room wasn't the best feeling in the world.

Still, it was her turn to keep watch and she'd rather not have her teammates fret over her any more than they already have been as of late. She found a protruding piece of stone and quietly took a seat, trying her best to make it as comfortable as possible, although to not much avail.

Aside from the occasional Grimm that wandered by, there wasn't much of anything to really keep watch for. Minato had left a message that said that the White Fang would be here near Mountain Glenn, so they took on a mission that brought them out here to the South-East. The only problem was, aside from a bunch of ruins and a whole lot of Grimm, they hadn't been able to find much of anything in regards to the White Fang.

The only things out here in this wasteland were the Grimm.

"Blake, do you know where Ruby is?"

The voice surprised her and she blinked, before she gathered herself and looked at Yang with a confused look.

"Isn't she sleeping?"

The worried look on the older sister's face already answered her question.

"She's gone."

* * *

A lonely figure continued to make his way through the seemingly never ending wasteland. A cold wind blew by and he couldn't help but shiver as he clutched his jacket closer towards his body. The slow rising morning sun offered little in terms of warmth.

At the very least, the abandoned ruins of Mountain Glenn were now within eyesight.

Soon enough, he would arrive and be able to put an end to this madness. Although, in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder, what exactly did they have to gain from this? If Vale, one of the four major cities of Remnant were to fall to a Grimm invasion, the results would be catastrophic.

How could anyone benefit from that type of destruction? From that much death?

It was a thought that stirred up bad memories of Ikutsuki and his madness. Memories of the Thirteen Arcana Shadows, of Nyx and the destruction of the world that it entailed. Were they so consumed with madness and hatred for the world that they wished for nothing but its ruin?

It was a harrowing thought.

Shaking his head, as if to rid himself of the thoughts, he continued to press onwards. Dirt and gravel crunched beneath his feet. In the end, it didn't matter what their intentions were. If they wanted to tread down this path of destruction, he would stop them.

It was as simple as that.

* * *

Stealing Dust was one thing.

Trying to set up an invasion of Grimm by blasting a hole into the middle of downtown Vale was a whole different story.

Committing crimes? He didn't have a problem with that; on the contrary he rather enjoyed his line of work. Killing? He wouldn't exactly say that it was his favorite past time, but he didn't have any issues with it, hell he'd put his own fair share of people into early graves. He wasn't exactly someone you would call an upstanding citizen after all.

But even then, there were lines that Roman Torchwick didn't want to cross.

Unleashing a horde of bloodthirsty Grimm along with a mob of White Fang members armed to the teeth into the middle of downtown Vale was one of those lines. It wasn't because of morals or anything stupid like that; no, he didn't give a rat's ass about anyone other than himself and his longtime partner in crime. It was all actually pretty simple. Roman liked money, he liked money a lot. Money bought you power, and things, really nice shiny things.

That's why he had a little issue with Cinder's plan. The thing is; you can't spend your _hard-earned_ money on nice shiny things if everybody's _fucking_ dead or dying. You can't have a criminal underworld without there being a world on top in the first place after all. And guess what's going to happen if a horde of Grimm were to suddenly get unleashed into downtown Vale?

It didn't take a genius to figure that one out. Even one of Juniors braindead lackeys could put two and two together.

And as if Cinder's psychotic little plans weren't enough to tick him off already, she had to have him working under a bunch of goddamn animals.

All in all, it was safe to say that Roman was in a _very_ bad mood.

That probably explained how he got into the little awkward situation that he was now currently in. Awkward, as in the awkward you get when you're surrounded by a bunch of animals that want to pump you full of red Dust-fueled rounds, rounds that he had helped them _acquire_ in the first place mind you. The thing is, when you put an irritated Roman Torchwick in the same room as Adam Taurus of all people, things weren't exactly going to turn out well.

"People, people, people. Come on now, we're all on the same side here aren't we?"

The only replies that Roman received were even more angry glares.

"How about we all just put away our guns, eh?" Roman mockingly asked, "After all, we wouldn't want the pest exterminator to drop by and burn us all into tiny little crisps now, would we?"

"Tch."

An irritated sound was the only response that Adam Taurus felt compelled to give before he waved off the rest of his men. Begrudgingly, they all put down their weapons, all except for one. It was one of their shorter members, and if Roman had to guess, it was one of their newer members as well.

"Why do we have to work with this _human_ , sir? We should just kill him like all the rest of their discriminatory kind."

Roman snorted at that.

"What, me? Discriminatory? Why I'm not like that at all! You lot sure are a self-assured bunch if you think I'd only hate you buffoons because you have an extra pair of ears or something like that," Roman sneered, "Nah, if anything it's because you guys are incompetent idiots."

"Oh sorry, not discriminatory," The short White Fang member hissed back, "Just an asshole."

"Now see, that's better! I like you more than the rest of these clowns already!"

"Enough!" Adam all but shouted, "We still have a job to do, get back to work."

It was a tone that booked no room for argument. The small group that had begun to gather around soon scattered as White Fang members of all different kinds hurried back to their posts. If Roman didn't think that he was such an edgy punk, he would've actually been impressed with how easily the bull Faunus was able to hold control over his men.

Now, Roman wasn't completely certain, but he had a feeling that the White Fang commander was glaring at him underneath his mask.

"What?" Roman sneered, "Don't tell me, I'm not wearing any red am I?"

To his credit, the bull Faunus simply turned his back and walked away. Roman frowned at that, now that wasn't any fun. With Cinder's threat still looming in the air, neither one of them would start a fight, but that didn't mean Roman wouldn't try his best to annoy the living hell out of everybody here. Because if he wasn't having a good time, then by god, nobody was going to have good time.

So, when the de-facto leader of the White Fang stormed off, Roman did what any other annoying asshole would've done.

He followed him.

"Come on Taurus, what's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

…

When it became apparent that the other man wasn't going to respond, Roman sighed. How very dull. There wasn't any amusement to be gained if the other person simply ignored you.

Just when Roman was about ready to give up and go see what Neo was up to, one of the White Fang grunts came running by.

"Uh… Commander Taurus? We've found something that you might want to see."

Roman raised an eyebrow at that.

"What is it?" Adam Taurus immediately questioned.

"Uh…" The White Fang member hesitated, "You might want to see for yourself."

The Faunus man then stepped out of the way, revealing what they had managed to "find". Roman's face went momentarily blank at the sight. Somehow someway, these buffoons had managed to capture little ol' Red. He couldn't help but wonder how in the hell had they managed to pull that one off when they couldn't hit the broadside of a barn if their lives depended on it.

Quickly regathering himself, he knelt down until he was at eye level with the little brat.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't little Red," Roman said, his voice turning deadly, "Tell me Red, how'd you find this place?"

The only response that he received from the little girl was in the form of a glare. Roman had been on the receiving end of that a lot lately. Probably a testament to his rather charming personality.

"You know the girl?" Adam eventually asked.

"You could say that we're _acquainted_ ," Roman supplied, "You see, she and her little band of brats like to play the role of hero a lot."

The bull Faunus snorted at that.

"So, she was the reason for your recent failures?" Adam sneered, "How pathetic."

"Oh please, if your little animal friends could actually do their job correctly and _stop_ said little girl, there wouldn't be any failures in the first place."

"And yet, it's my _men_ that are the ones standing here right now, with the girl in our grasps."

"Yeah, they're suddenly surprisingly competent aren't they?" Roman hissed back, "Too bad they can't manage this competence when it actually matters. Like oh, I don't know; when we were in the middle of Dust robberies maybe?"

Despite the mask that covered the bull Faunus' features, Roman could feel the killing intent that the other man was leveling at him. He simply scoffed at the sight. Adam Taurus wouldn't do a damn thing, not when Cinder's threat still loomed over the two of them like a suffocating cloud of smoke.

Disobey her enough and you'll end up burnt to a crisp.

"Uh… Commander?" The White Fang grunt hesitantly asked, "So, what do we do with the girl?"

Roman blinked at that, before he turned his attention back towards the said girl. Now that was a good question. What _were_ we going to do with little ol' Red?

"Isn't that obvious?" Adam Taurus asked, as his hand reached for the blade at his side, "She's not one of us. We'll make an example out of her for those that think they can stand in our way."

Roman watched as the White Fang's leader drew out the blade from its sheath. The sword glowed with an eerie crimson that seemed to almost glimmer against the faint light coming from the various lanterns that decorated the underground cavern. Roman wasn't a weapon's smith or anything, but he knew good craftsmanship when he saw it.

He could see Red's eyes grow wide in apprehension.

It was a pity. He'd have liked to put the annoying little brat under himself, on his own terms, but he supposed that he couldn't complain too much if the end result was the same.

"Too bad for you Red," Roman chuckled, "Looks like you sure got your hands caught in the cookie jar this time around."

Taurus brought the blade up as Red struggled in trying to break free from her captors, without much success.

And then an explosion shook the place.

* * *

When the explosion sent tremors all over the cavern, the hold that the White Fang members had on her arms loosened.

This was her chance.

Ruby grit her teeth and concentrated. Her muscles tensed, like sprung-up coils waiting to be let loose. She poured as much Aura into her legs as she possibly could.

And then, she flew.

She ran faster than she had ever run before. Everything around her seemed to be a blur. Gunshots cracked from behind her, but they'd never hit her, not at the speeds she was going. She ran, and continued to run until she saw a familiar mess of bright yellow hair pop out from a nearby corner. She could soon make out other colors around as well, white, black, and even green. The rest of her team and Professor Oobleck.

Ruby stopped.

She stopped and jumped straight into the arms of her older sister.

"Ruby!"

For a brief moment, she let herself bask in the warmth of her older sister's warmth. Only for a moment though, since they still had the White Fang to deal with.

"Ruby, you're not hurt are you?"

Her older sister had always worn her heart on her sleeve, and today was no different. She could visibly make out all the different emotions that her sister had gone through. Worry, fear, relief, and so much more.

"I'm fine Yang," Ruby reassured as she untangled herself from her sister's grasp, "But the White Fang, they're planning something big! They've got a train filled with all sorts of weapons and mechs!"

"What?" Weiss asked, confusion evident in her voice, "What could they possibly hope to accomplish with that? These tunnels should all be sealed."

"Indeed," Professor Oobleck quickly chimed in, "Ms. Schnee is correct in her assumption, these tunnels have been sealed for years. They simply lead to a dead end."

Ruby frowned.

"But if that's true…" The scythe-wielder paused, "Then why even bother loading up the train in the first place?"

"We can always ask them and find out," Yang eagerly replied as she pounded her fists together, eyeing their potential opponents up, "The hard way."

Ruby nodded at that as she turned her attention back towards their enemies on the other side of the cavern. She reached behind her back out of simple muscle memory before she realized that she didn't have Crescent Rose anymore.

"Uhm…" She sheepishly began as she rubbed the back of her head, "You guy's wouldn't happen to have seen Crescent Rose have you?"

"Luckily for you, we have," Weiss replied in her usual condescending tone, "Honestly, what kind of huntress manages to lose her weapon?"

Ruby simply rolled her eyes.

"Well, can I get her back now?"

Weiss frowned.

"Blake, that was your queue! Hello, Blake?"

When Blake didn't respond, Ruby glanced over towards their Faunus teammate and began to frown as well. Blake's skin was pale, far paler than normal. Her posture was tense and her eyes were as wide as if someone was coming to deliver a fatal blow.

When she finally spoke, Ruby had to almost strain her ears to hear.

"…Adam."

* * *

How long had it been since they'd last seen each other? Since she'd run away?

She'd dreaded this day. The day when she would have to face Adam once more. The knot in her stomach only continued to get worse, twisting and turning. The familiar Grimm mask stared straight at her, as if it was peering into her very soul.

And then, Adam began to move.

Every step he took, Blake began to feel her heart beat faster. The hairs on the nape of her neck bristled as she felt her fists clench. The fear, she could feel it, and it was absolutely suffocating. She wanted to run away, like a corned animal faced with a predator, her instincts _demanded_ that she run away.

"Blake."

A hand touched her shoulder. It was warm, and just like that, the fear began to subside. She let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding in. That's right, she wasn't a little girl anymore; she wasn't _alone_ anymore.

Turning towards her blonde partner, Blake gave a small smile.

"Thanks. I'm okay now Yang."

Yang slowly released the hold on her shoulder.

"That's the guy isn't it?" Her blonde haired partner asked, "From when you were with the White Fang?"

Blake only nodded in response.

Adam continued walking forward, until he was only a couple of feet away from her. The flaming red hair, the White Fang insignia plastered all over. Adam looked exactly the same as he had before.

"Hello Blake," Adam slowly began, "My love."

Her teammates gave her a strange look, but otherwise said nothing. All of a sudden, it felt as if she wasn't able to speak. As if there were a knot stuck in her throat, blocking her vocal cords. Clenching her fists, she swallowed the knot in her throat and began to open her mouth.

A blow horn sounded off throughout the underground crevice.

The train's engine began to roar to life. Slowly, but surely, the wheels of the train began to turn and turn.

"The train!" Ruby all but shouted, "Blake! Crescent Rose!"

Blake blinked. For a moment, her mind seemed to blank out on her. She quickly found her bearings and tossed the scythe back towards its owner. Ruby caught it in mid-air and in one smooth motion, "unsheathed" the weapon before she launched herself forward with her semblance.

Her leader shot forward in a blur of speed.

Only to be stopped by the clash of metal. A sickeningly red sword began to dig into Crescent Rose's frame as Ruby struggled to hold her ground. Blake would recognize that sword from anywhere.

 _Wilt and Blush._

"Ruby!"

Yang dashed forward, Ember Celica primed for battle. Like a raging inferno, with her semblance roaring to life, her partner attacked.

Adam wasn't even fazed. Without even bothering to look at her, he reached for Blush with his free hand and simply blasted her away. The shells from the double barreled shotgun slammed into her as she went flying into the nearby ruins. In the same motion, he broke free from his deadlock with Ruby and aimed a kick at her stomach, sending her flying into the opposite direction of her sister.

Weiss' eyes widened momentarily in surprise before she drew Myrtenaster. Professor Oobleck had drawn his weapon as well and appeared to be preparing himself for battle. Blake made sure to follow suit as she slowly unsheathed Gambol Shroud into its blade form.

"So, these are the ones that you left us for… that you left _me_ for, my love…?"

Blake didn't bother responding. They were past the point of words. She merely continued to hold Gambol Shroud protectively in front of her as Adam began to walk forward once more.

"You betrayed us, betrayed me, for this pathetic lot? For a Schnee?!" Adam spat out, "Have you lost your mind Blake?"

"I've been wondering that about you for a long time Adam…"

Adam grew silent at that. For a moment, Blake wondered how long he would remain that way.

"I'm going to have to punish you for your betrayal Blake," Adam eventually began, "And I'll start… By killing that Schnee."

And then he vanished. Blake's eyes grew wide in surprise before she grit her teeth and quickly jumped in front of Weiss. Gambol Shroud met with Wilt as the two Eastern-styled swords bit into each other. She knew how Adam fought, how he _killed_.

She wasn't going to let it happen to her friends.

 _Thud._

…What?

This sensation. Was she… Flying? For a brief moment, she could make out the various cracks that decorated the underground cavern's ceiling. And then she hit the floor, tumbling and tumbling until she finally came to a painful stop.

Her hands instinctively went to her ribs as she let out a gagged cough. Since when had Adam been this… Powerful?

Grimacing, Blake forced herself back up. Professor Oobleck and Weiss had already begun fighting with Adam. Panic began to briefly seep into her system, if Adam was this powerful, was Ruby alright?

Yang was the most physically imposing out of them all, so if Blake could take a blow from Adam then she should be able to. But Ruby was different, she was small, she was fragile. More than them all, Ruby had always relied on her speed to avoid hits. Aura or not, if she were to take a strong blow like that…

Her fears were soon laid to rest when the two sisters rejoined the fight. Ruby's silver eyes gleamed with determination while Yang's lilac ones simmered with a raging anger. Slowly, she reached down and picked up Gambol Shroud before she stepped into the fray once more.

Their teamwork was as impeccable as ever. Despite Professor Oobleck being the odd one out, he managed to seamlessly integrate himself into their formations by picking his spots. A testament to the skills of a veteran huntsman no doubt.

While nobody had managed to land a crucial hit on Adam yet, they were wearing him down with small blows here and there. But that wasn't good enough, not when they still had a train to stop. They needed to take him down _now_. Ruby no doubt had the same thought in her head as she ordered the team to spread into their _Ice Flower_ formation.

Blake spared a brief glance towards her blonde haired partner who merely nodded in reply. In one simultaneous motion, they both leaped forward and attacked. Blake weaved in short strikes in between Ember Celica's shower of pellets. Adam held them off well, but that didn't matter, they were merely buying a little time.

Once she heard the glyphs beginning to form, Blake jumped away, letting out a couple of loose rounds from Gambol Shroud's pistol form for good measure. Yang quickly followed suit. Crescent Rose's blade was firmly planted into the ground as a myriad of glyphs continued to form in front of its barrel.

 _Crack._

The first shot rang out. Followed by another, and then another, until the entire magazine was emptied. Bullets shells punched through the glyphs, gaining its icy properties along the way. Ruby Rose's aim rang true as the icy projectiles made a straight beeline for Adam Taurus.

That was when Blake remembered.

In the heat of battle, in a race against time, with all these emotions running through her, the thought had simply slipped her mind.

When the .50 caliber rounds made contact with Wilt's blade, they simply… vanished. Each and every bullet, as if they had been absorbed into the very sword itself. And as if having its sick hunger satiated, the crimson blade started to glow alight with a red hue.

How could she have forgotten?

Adam Taurus's semblance.

And its retaliation strike. Blake's eyes grew wide and she screamed.

" _Run!"_

And then her entire world vanished in a flash of white light.

...

...

...

There was a ringing in her ears that threatened to split her skull in two. Kicked up gravel and dirt polluted the air, floating about like a thick cloud of dust. There was a faint smell of something burnt still lingering around her.

She let out a choked cough as her eyes finally began to resettle themselves. Wiping off the tiny particles of debris that had gotten stuck on her face, Blake slowly forced herself onto her knees. Her entire body ached.

Sleep threatened to overtake her.

That was when she saw it. Wilt's crimson colored blade hovering in the air, simply waiting to plunge itself into its next victim. Into her teammate, her _friend_ , into an unmoving Weiss.

" _No!"_

She forced the last of her aura into her legs. Ignoring the pain, ignoring the aching in her bones, she launched herself forward. Gambol Shroud somehow managed to shakily hold firm as she blocked the incoming blow meant for her now unconscious teammate.

"Even now, you would go this far to protect a Schnee, Blake?"

Wilt began to dig deeper into Gambol Shroud's frame as her arms seemed to scream in pain.

"She's not just a Schnee…" Blake snarled, _"She's my friend!"_

"And what about me?!" Adam growled back, _"What about us?!"_

Her amber eyes peered into the Grimm like mask in front of her, into Adam's own crimson orbs.

"There is no us," She all but whispered, "Not anymore."

The pressure against Gambol Shroud was finally released. Her arms seemed to almost let out a breath in relief as they lifelessly fell limp by her sides.

"Why must you hurt me so, Blake?"

She didn't have anything to say to that. She didn't have the energy for it. She was tired, so very tired.

"Fine then," Adam murmured, "But if I can't have you, then nobody can."

Wilt's crimson edge rose up once more.

Blake shut her eyes. Perhaps this was her punishment, her just deserts for running away. For not facing her problems and leaving Adam to become consumed by his hatred and thirst for vengeance. Perhaps this is what she deserved.

But the blow never came.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. But instead of Adam and his mask, all she saw was black.

It was somebody's… Back?

Her amber colored eyes continued to trail up the coat of black until they reached a familiar mess of blue. His hair was as unruly as ever, like a wild jungle that was untamable by any comb. It was a sight that she would've never thought to have been so glad to see.

"You…!" Adam snarled.

If the boy had heard Adam, he didn't acknowledge it. Instead, with a slight tilt of his head, he turned himself to face her. He had a warm smile on his face as he opened his mouth.

His voice was so soft that Blake almost had to strain her ears to hear.

" _Everything will be alright."_

Her body suddenly began to slump and it felt as if a large weight had just been lifted off her. Blake had always been a pessimist. How could she not be? When her entire life had been defined by bitterness?

But right then and there, she couldn't help but believe him. As absurd as it sounded, she couldn't help but trust in his words, that everything would be alright in the end. She wanted to open her mouth, to speak, but nothing would come out.

So, she simply smiled back.

And then the dark clutches of sleep overtook her.

* * *

 **Author's Notes-** Sorry...

I know that it's been a while. Those of you that have followed me for a while are probably used to this by now, ah ha. Once the semester starts for me, my update schedules usually just go out the window. Ugh, it doesn't help that I've been writing so many papers lately that I kind of just got sick of writing in general. It's almost break though, so things should pick up here soon enough!

A couple of people have been asking me about pairings, so I figured I'd address that here. Yes, there will be pairings. I won't say who because I don't want to spoil it and like everything else in the story, it'll probably be subject to change. I'm probably forgetting to address something else but it's 3 A.M. and I'm tired so whatever lol.

As usual thank you all for the support. I'll see you all next time~

-SFX


	9. Chapter 9: The Price for Revolution

**Chapter 9-**

 **The Price for Revolution**

* * *

When he first heard the sounds of gunfire, he wasn't sure what to expect. Seeing the defeated forms of Team RWBY and what appeared to be their mentor was something that he definitely didn't expect. It was not exactly a sight he wanted to see either.

He knelt down by Blake's side.

She was unconscious, but she was alive and that was what really mattered. While her injures weren't severe, they weren't something that he could simply ignore either. He muttered a small healing spell under his breath, and a dull green light began to wash over most of her wounds.

Weiss, who was out-cold nearby, had similar injuries to her Faunus teammate. They were nothing life-threatening, a few minor lacerations and perhaps a broken bone or two. Thankfully, her Aura seemed to have taken the brunt of the damage. So, once more, he casted a small Dia spell, healing some of her more prominent injuries.

The red-haired White Fang member had been watching him the entire time. The Grimm-like mask on the red-haired man's face hid most of his features, but he could still feel an almost predatory gaze on him. It reminded him of how a predator would watch its prey as it debated when to pounce.

"This will be the third time that you've crossed us now."

While the voice was low and controlled, he could detect the faintest hint of fury residing in it. He didn't pay it any mind and simply began to make his way towards the rest of Blake's fallen comrades.

He didn't make it too far before he found himself staring down the tip of a crimson colored blade.

"This will also be the final time that you will cross us."

For the first time since he had arrived, he truly regarded the man in front of him. Crimson red hair along with a pair of jet black horns stood atop his head. An ivory white Grimm mask covered the upper half of the man's face. While it was similar to the masks that most of the White Fang wore, it had its own distinct differences. Aside from its much smaller size, there were intricate red designs that decorated the exterior of the mask.

If he had to guess, those designs probably held some significance; perhaps as a way to display one's rank and status within the White Fang?

"You are the leader of the White Fang?" He slowly began in a soft voice, "You are Adam Taurus?"

"I am. And you are the thorn that's been at our side for far too long."

He could not deny that, so he simply kept his silence.

"One way or another, I am going to remove that thorn."

A threat such as that was nothing new for him. He would have liked to check on the rest of Blake's team, but it seemed that would have to wait. With any luck, they wouldn't be too badly injured.

"…But before we begin," Adam began, "I have a question for you."

He was surprised at this, but did not let it show on his face. He was even more surprised when the crimson red blade slowly dropped back down to the masked man's side. He responded with a slight tilt of his head in acknowledgement.

"Why did you save Tukson?"

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but he answered the question regardless.

"Because he is my friend."

"Your friend…" Adam slowly replied, as if the word was completely foreign to him, "You would consider him to be your friend? A Faunus?"

"Of course," He answered without hesitation, "… Not all humans are that… Narrow-minded."

"Perhaps," Adam reluctantly nodded, "But most are."

He could not exactly refute that. How could he? When discrimination and prejudice was so commonplace? When he had literally just seen Faunus that would rather live outside of a major city's walls rather than deal with the discrimination?

So, he kept his silence once more.

"I can already tell what kind of _human_ you are," Adam scoffed, "You're one of those idealist types. But mere ideals will not bring about the change needed for a better world."

Perhaps Adam Taurus was right about that. If ideals could sway the minds of the people, Remnant would not have any of the issues that plagued it in the first place. But still, that did not make Adam's way the _right_ way.

"A better world would be one of equality," He murmured, "Not what you are fighting for."

"Equality? Do not be so naïve," Adam scoffed once more, "They will never accept my kind as equals.

"Better to be naïve than to be marred by hypocrisy."

"Hypocrisy?" Adam spat, "What would _you_ know of our struggle, of our pain?"

"You are right, I don't know," He all but whispered, "But what you want, it would make you no better than the very humans that you are fighting so hard against."

Adam did not immediately reply to that. A strained silence seemed to hang in the air. For a moment, the only sounds that could be heard were the slight breezes of wind flowing into the cavern.

"You speak of pretty ideals," Adam eventually began, "But ideals are simply that, ideals. I gave years of my life fighting for equality, protesting for peace. And what did that get me and my people? Nothing, absolutely nothing. No, the only way to bring about change is through my way, _our_ way, through _revolution_."

He blinked at that.

"Is that what this is all about? Revolution? _That_ is the reason for this attack?"

Adam tilted his head in acknowledgement.

"It is what must be done."

He could only stare at the man in disbelief.

"You think this attack on Vale will benefit the Faunus? The only ones that would benefit from such needless destruction are the Grimm. How many humans, how many Faunus, how many _people_ will suffer because of this? How many will _die_?"

"It is simply a necessary sacrifice for a better future," Adam smoothly replied, "This will be the spark that starts the fires of revolution."

For a moment, he had trouble finding the right words to reply to that with. After a brief pause, he finally settled on just seven.

"…Is this even about the Faunus anymore?"

"…And just what," Adam slowly began, "Are you implying?"

" _This_ is what will happen as a result of your actions," He held his hands out and gestured at the ruined buildings that surrounded them, "There are Faunus that live in that city as well. How can _this_ possibly benefit the Faunus, let alone anybody at all?"

What had once been a thriving city filled with people was now nothing more than a dilapidated ghost town. Humans and Faunus, the Grimm made no distinction between the two, everybody was fair game in their eyes.

"This isn't even about the Faunus anymore," He continued without breaking stride, "This is just about _you_ and _your_ selfish need for revenge."

The words had come out with a bitterness that he didn't know he possessed. That was surprising for him, for it was not often that he found himself losing his temper. Perhaps it was because of how similar all this nonsense was to Ikutsuki, and how his former advisor almost dragged the entire world down along with him and his insanity. How the deaths of so many innocent humans and Faunus could benefit anybody at all, aside from the Grimm, was beyond him.

He could not understand. Not only Adam and the White Fang, but the people of Remnant as well. How could they direct such hatred towards one another when the true enemy was right in front of their eyes? The Grimm seemed to wish for nothing but the destruction of civilization itself, and yet, people still found ways to attack one another rather than the Grimm.

For him, it was a completely ridiculous notion.

And perhaps therein lied the problem. He could not understand because this was not _his_ world, he was merely a guest here, and nothing more. How could he begin to understand the feelings of the people of Remnant, when he was not even one of them himself? Perhaps Adam Taurus and the White Fang were justified in their feelings of resentment, in their thirst for revenge.

But in his eyes, that still did not make it _right_.

What Adam wanted, it would lead to the deaths of countless Faunus and humans alike. He was no stranger to death, death after all, had been ingrained into his very soul for years. He knew first-hand of the pain and loneliness that death could bring. To subjugate so many innocent people to that fate was something that he would simply not allow.

Perhaps it was not his place to intervene. This was not even his world to begin with. But then, images of Ikutsuki and his demented prophecy flowed into his mind; memories of how his former advisor was willing to go far enough to damn an entire world for his desire. This was much smaller in scope, but the core concept behind it all was the same, people were going to have to die for this, people he _knew,_ that lived in that city.

He had lost enough to death in his life. He was not going to lose anything more.

"What you want Adam," He finally continued, "Has nobody's best intentions at heart other than your own."

The words seemed to hang in the air for a while, and the strained silence from before soon returned.

"We've already talked too much. A _human_ could never understand our struggle," Adam eventually began, "Now, I am going to cut out the annoying little splinter that has been at the White Fang's side for far too long!"

Adam lunged forward with such speeds that he had almost lost track of him. The crimson blade swept straight for his neck, only missing it by mere inches as he quickly dodged out of the way. Gritting his teeth, he leapt backwards and reached for his evoker.

Quickly, he put the barrel towards the side of his head and moved his index finger to pull the trigger.

"As if I'd let you!"

Another blow, this time it was an overhead swing. The strike didn't find its mark, but it served its purpose in delaying his summoning. Adam did not let up, another strike came, a forward thrust. It nicked him in the cheek as he almost failed to jerk his head out of the way.

Fresh droplets of blood began to roll down the side of his face.

With his free hand, he reached for the sword at his side and quickly drew it out. It was nothing extraordinary, a simple mass produced short-sword that he had purchased at the local smithy. As far as weapons went, it was as uninspiring as it was bland. He didn't mind though, unlike most people from this world, he actually preferred it if his sword didn't transform into a gun; it made things much less complicated.

Bringing the short-sword up; he carefully held it in front of him in a defensive stance while his other hand tightly held onto his evoker. It was a feeling that he was now unused too, for it had been far too long since he had last fought with sword and evoker together. The last time he had been in this position was in his final battle against Nyx.

He wouldn't have the time to grow accustomed to it though, as Adam soon continued his assault.

The crimson red blade came down this time in an overhead swing. He met the steel with his own as he held his sword over him in a slight angle, allowing the other blade to smoothly slide off to the side. He would not be able to match the strength of the White Fang leader with only a one-handed style so rather than try to block the blows head on, he preferred the more nimble approach to countering.

But even then, it was difficult.

The pressure continued to rain down upon him. A small cut on the shoulder, one on his left arm, and another on his right. The blade came down so quickly that many a time he found himself reacting a tad too late, receiving a small cut or two in the process.

He grit his teeth.

He was out of practice. Reflexes had become dull from the days of peace without the daily grind up the tower. In the past, he would not have struggled so. While he knew what to do in his mind, his body was all too slow to respond, resulting in small cuts here and there.

Another thrust nicked the side of his neck.

This was not like the fight with the silver-haired assassin or the White Fang Lieutenant. While the silver-haired boy and the White Fang Lieutenant had been skilled, Adam Taurus was on a completely different level. The White Fang leader did not have the raw speed of Mercury or the brute strength of his Lieutenant, but the man had a perfect mixture of both and the skills of an expert swordsman to go along with it.

Adam Taurus was a dangerous individual.

Another sudden jerk of his head only barely managed to avoid the shotgun shells that ripped out of the other man's double-barreled shotgun. The crimson red sword was used in close range and when he tried to create some distance, the double-barreled shotgun that acted as the sword's sheath would quickly respond in kind. It was an unorthodox way of fighting, but that only made it all the more unpredictable, all the more dangerous.

Adam Taurus was without a doubt, a better swordsman than he was.

Were this simply a battle between swordsmen, he would have surely been defeated. Adam Taurus not only had the edge in terms of physical attributes, but the other man had the advantage when it came to plain and simple skill as well. The only reason why he had not been completely and utterly destroyed yet was due to his experience in fighting against overwhelming odds.

But, he never claimed to be a good swordsman in the first place. He had picked up the sword simply as a tool, a means to an end in order to allow him to draw out his true ability. Tartarus was the home to many a Shadow, and one could not always rely on an ally to cover their back while summoning after all.

The red sword came down once more, but this time he was prepared for it. He brought his own weapon up to counter, but rather than strike back with his sword, he leapt back and muttered a quick spell.

 _Agi._

A small torrent of fire shot forward. He had expected Adam Taurus to dodge out of the way, but instead, the flames simply seemed to vanish out of the very air itself. It was as if the red sword had somehow found a way to absorb the entirety of the fiery spell.

Perhaps that was the other man's Semblance?

Either way, it didn't matter; the spell had served its purpose in the end. As ineffective as it proved to be, it gave him just enough time to bring his evoker up towards his head, unperturbed. He pulled the trigger, and the all too familiar sound of shattering glass soon followed.

" _Thou Art I… And I am Thou."_

It was a familiar chant. One that he had heard many a time. It was one that he would probably hear many more times again in the future as well. Fate seemed to truly enjoy dragging him into conflict, through one way or another.

The wings were the first to flicker into existence. They were made of peerless silver and stood out more like sharpened blades than winged appendages. The rest of its metallic body along with the Sword of Judgement began to form next, cloaked in a magnificent mantle of light all the while. The frowning mask came last and like the rest of its body, was made of such sharpened silver that it seemed as if merely looking at it could pierce one's very soul.

The dimly lit cavern soon became engulfed in a bastion of light. Shadows that had once danced around the faintly lit lanterns were no more, as a continuous stream of light radiated from Metatron, the voice of god.

For a brief moment, nobody moved a muscle, much less spoke. In the end, he was the first to break this stalemate when he tilted his head in acknowledgement towards the manifestation of thought. The Persona would not make its move without his orders after all.

" _Go."_

And then, with a great flap of his wings, Metatron surged forward.

* * *

Roman reached into his coat pocket and took out a lighter as he lit the cigar in his hand. It was a cheap brand, but these days, times were rough and money was always short. The taste wasn't up to his standards, but the tobacco roll still served its purpose.

He let the smoke linger in his lungs for a moment, before he finally exhaled.

After a while, the nicotine finally kicked in. He closed his eyes and took another long drag, all the while enjoying the light buzz that he began to get. Roman had found himself smoking a lot more than usual lately, no doubt because of how complicated things had been getting recently.

Oh, how he missed the simpler times, when all he had to worry about was what poor sap would be the target of his next heist. Those were simpler times, better times, and he wished for nothing more than a return to the old status quo. But no, the world never did make things easy for Roman Torchwick. No, he had to deal with a psychotic woman, some crazy meddling kids, and some of the most incompetent buffoons that he ever had the displeasure of not only meeting, but having to work with.

And people wondered why he was in such a bad mood lately.

The cargo train continued to move along as he continued to smoke his cigar. Out of all the people in the world that could've found out about their little plan, of course it would be Red and her little gang of wannabe heroes. He would've liked nothing more than to put the little brat in her place, but he was a professional and the _plan_ always came first. So, he listened to Taurus and got the train running, in spite of the bad taste it left in his mouth to be taking orders from the king of the mutts himself of all people.

Roman took one last drag of his cigar before he snuffed it out under his foot. Unlike Taurus, he was never a big fan of Cinder's little planned attack on Vale. When he told the kid about it, it was under the expectation that the kid would come and put an end to things like he had at the rally. The train was never supposed to have even left the cavern to begin with. Little Red and her gang's intervention changed things.

These new developments were unexpected, but he could still use them to his advantage.

Little Red and her gang of wannabe heroes wouldn't stand a chance against Taurus. Now, Roman might not have liked Taurus, but he still couldn't deny his strength. He'd heard stories about the bull, and from what he'd heard, those brats didn't have a shot in hell at taking down Taurus.

But, when a wild card comes into play, the game changes.

Little Red and company might not be able to put Taurus out of the picture, but throw in the kid too, and that was a whole new ballgame. Roman could feel the gears begin to turn in his head and he couldn't help but let out a dark chuckle. He was a gambling man, and this was going to be the gamble of a lifetime.

Neo, who sat at his side, gave him a puzzled look.

Roman simply returned her curious gaze with a lopsided smirk.

"It's time for another life lesson Neo."

Neo's only response was a raised eyebrow.

"Y'see, when your boss has you working under idiots, it's time to become self-employed."

* * *

Weiss could hear voices.

They started off faint, but as time passed, the voices grew louder. Whoever those voices belonged to, she wished for nothing more than for them to be silent and let her sleep. As the voices continued to grow in volume, begrudgingly her eyes began to open.

The first thing that she noticed was the absence of the soft cushions of her pillowcase. What was there instead was what felt like the extremely rough exterior of rocks and gravel. The next thing that came to her mind was the sudden pain and fatigue that seemed to radiate throughout her body. As the gears in her brain continued to process all of this new information, the continuous stream of voices was no more and had been replaced by the all too familiar sound of clashing steel.

Huntsmen training soon took over and eyes that were once struggling to open were now fully awake and alert. Light-blue irises scanned the surrounding environment, carefully taking in each and every detail. Underground cavern, remnants of a battlefield, the masked swordsman, and now, Minato Arisato.

Memories of what had recently transpired rushed back into her.

Ruby had gone missing and they had tracked her down into this underground cavern. They found her, but they also found the White Fang as well. Professor Oobleck and her team had gotten into a battle with the masked swordsman, and then that explosion of light…

And now, it seemed that Minato Arisato was here.

The blue haired boy was here and he was now fighting against the masked swordsman. Unlike the rest of her team, she was not overly familiar with the boy. Aside from a few small talks here and there, Weiss did not have too many interactions with him.

Minato Arisato was a bit of a mystery to her.

When Blake had first asked her for a favor, she had been more than happy to oblige. Blake did not ask for assistance very often, and she was more than eager to help her friend, especially after how strained their relationship had been for a while after that argument at the port.

While the request was a strange one, she obliged without much questioning. A background check on one Minato Arisato through the Schnee Dust Company's databases. What was even stranger than the request itself was the fact that Minato Arisato did not exist in the records. While it was not unheard of for there to be individuals out there that weren't included in the company's records, it was because most of these individuals lived beyond the walls.

Minato Arisato most certainly did not.

The crude noise of metal crashing against metal soon brought her attention away from her thoughts and back towards the duel that continued on in earnest. After only a brief moment, it became obvious to her what the outcome of the fight was going to be. As a fellow swordsman herself, it became apparent to her from the beginning that Adam Taurus was an opponent that was simply beyond her current level of skill. And while the blue-haired boy was skilled in his own right, he was no closer to defeating the masked swordsman than any of them were.

Adam Taurus had the advantage not only in terms of speed, but in strength as well. Normally, when an opponent had such an overwhelming advantage, the battle would be over in a matter of moments. However, in spite of how sorely outclassed the blue-haired boy appeared to be, he had not been defeated just yet.

At first, she had attributed it to the masked swordsman not taking the fight seriously. But then, as the battle continued to drag on, she began to come to the realization that that wasn't the case. The battle wasn't finished yet, but not because of a lack of effort from Adam Taurus. No, but because Minato Arisato, in spite of the overwhelming disadvantages he faced, somehow managed to continually avoid what would have otherwise been fatal blows.

Whether this was attributed to skill, experience, or even just plain old luck, she did not know. While the masked swordsman fought in a style that she had at least read about, the blue-haired boy fought in such an unorthodox way that it caused her to wonder how he had still not been defeated against such a strong opponent.

Despite the fact that Minato Arisato had still yet to be defeated, she couldn't help but think it was only a matter of time. While the blue-haired boy managed to evade fatal blows, he was still taking damage in the form of small cuts here and there. When the crimson blade managed to nick another cut, this time onto the blue-haired boy's neck, she had a feeling that the battle would soon be coming to an end.

And then, she saw it.

She could see the blue-haired boy begin to mumble something under his breath, and then, as if forming from the very molecules of the air itself, a stream of angry bright red fire shot forward. Adam Taurus did not appear to share her surprise as the masked man simply brought his crimson sword up, taking in the flames like a vacuum. Her eyes widened as she remembered what came next once that crimson blade absorbed an attack.

Her body began to tense up and she opened her mouth to yell out a warning to the blue-haired boy. However, nothing came out as the words soon died in her throat. Minato Arisato had placed the barrel of a gun at the side of his head, and before she could yell out in protest, he pulled the trigger.

Rather than the sound of gunfire, it was that of shattering glass.

That was when _it_ appeared.

Silver armor as majestic as any she'd ever seen. A sword that seemed to do nothing but simply radiate power. Wings that appeared to look more like sharpened blades than appendages used for flight. And light, so much light that it was almost blinding.

Minato Arisato had performed a summoning.

Weiss could not understand how that was possible. Only members of the Schnee family could perform summonings. That was how it had always been, and there had never been another instance of someone other than a member of the Schnee family proving otherwise.

Then did that mean he was also…?

Just _who_ was Minato Arisato?

* * *

 **Author's Notes-** Ugh, all these papers have been totally killing my drive to write. At the very least, I managed to get this one finished before finals. Hopefully, once the break's here, I'll get that motivation back.

As usual, thank you for all the support. It really helped me push through to get this one finished.

-SFX


	10. Chapter 10: There's No Place like Home

**Chapter 10-**

 **There's No Place like Home**

* * *

Roman had always liked trains, especially when they were in motion. You could hide a lot of things in trains, things that could range from unsavory to full blown illegal. They made good transportation for these goods as well. Trains had made Roman Torchwick a lot of money over the years.

And he liked things that made him money.

Aside from making good stash destinations and transporting goods in bulk, trains could also be helpful in other ways. There wasn't a lot of room to move about on a train, as the corridors were narrow and the boxcars themselves, while not exactly narrow, were still small confined 4x4 areas. As one can imagine, once a train is in motion, the different avenues for escape, become quite predictable. You can either run until you reach the very end of the line of boxcars, or you can jump. And seeing as how these tunnels were infested with Grimm of all types, jumping probably wasn't the smartest option.

So, what better place was there for a pest extermination, than here?

A couple of gunshots echoed through the boxcars and he couldn't help but wince at the bloodcurdling screams that followed soon after. Roman had to fight back the urge to sigh as he continued to make his way down towards the front of the train. Roman was a professional and he prided himself in that. So naturally, when it came time to mentor a young Neopolitan on the ways of the thief, he tried to instill the same level of professionalism he had.

Unfortunately, there were a couple of kinks that he was never able to completely iron out.

One of those kinks being Neo's rather… Eccentric tendencies. The girl enjoyed stabbing things… Perhaps a little too much. Not to mention how she always preferred to finish her jobs with an… "Artistic flourish", as she would put it.

Though, as troublesome as she could be at times, her effectiveness was never in doubt.

Perhaps that was why he allowed himself to entertain her little… Indulgences, as annoying as they were to deal with afterwards. Another round of gunshots soon filled the air, followed by a high-pitched scream. It took almost all of his willpower to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the radical display of _professionalism_.

She might have been having a little _too_ much fun this time around.

When he finally made it towards the last boxcar, he stood in front of the door and began to fix his scarf. Looking presentable was a valuable skill in and of itself after all. Once he deemed it satisfactory, Roman lifted up his right leg and kicked the door in.

A startled White Fang mook stood next to the control panel, with shaky hands tightly gripped onto a semi-automatic rifle all the while.

"Oh, it's just you," The mook sighed in relief, "What's going on out there anyway? I heard some gunshots; did one of those huntresses manage to board the train?"

"Oh no, nothing like that," Roman waved off dismissively, "There were just some… Pests that needed to be taken care of."

"Pests…?"

Roman simply nodded, with a sly grin on his face.

"Yeah, but don't worry. My colleague's taking care of them as we speak."

"By pests, you mean like some Grimm managed to get on board?"

"Oh no, I was thinking more…" Roman paused, and he couldn't help but feel his grin begin to grow even wider, "Animalistic in nature."

The Faunus said nothing, and simply stared back in silence. While the signature mask of the White Fang hid most of the Faunus' facial features, he could still make out the feelings of confusion that seemed to radiate from the poor mook. And then, as if the wheels in the idiot's little brain finally started turning, the White Fang member brought his rifle back up.

"Why you back-stabbing— "

Roman didn't bother letting him finish, and instead rushed forward, knocking the rifle out of the Faunus' hands with Melodic Cudgel. He followed through by throwing a forearm and pinning the White Fang mook into the wall, by his neck. The Faunus let out a choked gasp and tried to break free by flailing about.

"Come on now, didn't your mom teach you any better?" Roman chuckled, "You should _never_ trust a thief."

"Y-you think t-that you'll g-get away w-with this?!"

"Oh no, I think that all my plans are going to fail. I'm just doing this for the kicks."

Roman didn't let the Faunus respond by pressing harder against his neck.

"Of course I think I'm going to get away with it you idiot," He scoffed, "Especially since I don't have to rely on you clowns anymore."

The only response that Roman received came in the form of choked gasps that were more or less inaudible. Limbs continued to flail about, even more desperately than before. That only made him put even more pressure into his hold, as he slowly brought Melodic Cudgel up and pressed the cane cozily under the Faunus' chin.

"Oh by the way, say hi to the midget for me when you see him, I liked him."

Roman could make out the Faunus' eyes widen from underneath the mask, fear clearly evident in those orbs.

He simply laughed and pulled the trigger.

 _Bang._

Limbs finally stopped flailing as the body all but slumped over. Blood splattered against the walls of the boxcar, slowly beginning to trickle down towards the ground. Roman released his hold and the body dropped down to the floor in a heap, like a puppet with its strings cut.

He glanced down at his sleeves and frowned.

"Well, that's going to be a pain to wash off."

Honestly, the things he did for the sake of his ambition.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a handkerchief and tried to wipe off some of the blood that had gotten on his sleeve. Unfortunately, it had already begun to dry, so it seemed like he was stuck wearing a dirty suit for the rest of the evening.

How _lovely_.

With a sigh, he made his way over towards the control panel for the train. After deftly flipping a couple of switches, he pulled down on the brakes and shut the entire thing down. Slowly, but surely, the wheels began to screech to a halt.

Satisfied with the result, he began to light up a cigar as he started to make his way back towards the other side of the train. He'd done it now, with this, there would be no turning back. For all intents and purposes, this was a declaration of war towards Cinder.

He'd by lying if he said he wasn't nervous as all hell.

But, there was also a feeling of euphoria that could only come from sweet, sweet revenge. Roman knew how many resources that pyromaniac had committed to this attack, after all, he had helped _acquire_ most of those resources himself. This was going to _hurt_ Cinder. He only wished he could see her face when she found out about what happened to her little plan.

But, you don't always get what you want in life. Most of the time, you just have to settle with what you have. He'd just have to take solace in the fact that he completely fucked over her master plan. Maybe she'd flip out on those two brats of hers.

Roman couldn't help but chuckle at the thought.

He took a drag from his cigar as he continued to make his way through the long line of boxcars. He could make out splotches of blood here and there, but the distinct lack of bodies was a bit unsettling. He had a feeling that a certain accomplice of his was up to something again, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out just exactly what.

When he made it to the second-to-last boxcar, he finally found his said accomplice. Her back was turned towards him, and she had her hands on her hips, as if she were surveying the scene. And what a grisly scene it was, bodies were pinned against the walls in all sorts of various positions, some that seemed physically impossible . In a way, it looked like a mockery of an art exhibit, with how they were all neatly lined up one after the other, similar to what one would see when they entered a museum. When something began to drip down from the ceiling, he took a glance up and even saw some poor sod's body mangled in such a way that it resembled a ceiling fan all of things.

How cheeky.

It took a lot of willpower for Roman to resist the urge to sigh.

"I did _not_ need to see this."

Neo turned around with perhaps the smuggest grin that he had ever seen.

" _You just don't understand art."_

" _Right_ , art," Roman grumbled as he rolled his eyes, "I'm _sure_ the authorities will appreciate this a lot more than me were they to stumble upon it."

Neo simply stuck out her tongue.

"Real professional Neo," He sighed as he began to walk away from the grisly scene, a hand reaching for the phone in his pocket, "You're cleaning this up by the way."

Neo didn't make a sound, but Roman had known the girl long enough that he just _knew_ when she was pouting. That wasn't going to work on him this time though. He could only spoil her so much after all.

Now, he had some calls to make.

* * *

As a swordsman, he wasn't much of a match for Adam Taurus.

Metatron was a different story.

Adam Taurus had been a surprise. When his sword had begun to glow an eerie red and returned the flames with his Agi spell back towards Metatron in force, he had been impressed. The flames that were returned were much more intense, as if it had come from an Agidyne spell rather than a simple Agi one. For a moment, even Metatron had been staggered, not expecting the sheer intensity of the flames.

But, only for a moment.

He watched the ongoing battle continue on in silence. The tables had turned, and now it was the White Fang's leader that was the one getting actively pushed back. Metatron's strikes were as swift as they were brutal. Every swing that connected with the White Fang leader's sword resulted in said man getting knocked backwards like a ragdoll.

Such was the strength of an Archangel.

Despite the clear difference in power, Adam Taurus was indeed persistent. No matter how many times the crimson blade failed to pierce the Archangel's armor, the White Fang's commander continued to try. In a way, it was admirable, and at the same time sad, because of how hopelessly futile it was.

Completely and utterly futile.

It reminded him of the battle that the silver-haired assassin had with Thanatos. No matter how skilled a man could be, there was only so much one could do against a force of nature like Thanatos or Metatron. In the end, it was all simply a matter of time.

The difference between Metatron and Thanatos was that the Archangel did not have the same urges as the god of death to play with its enemies. Thanatos was the embodiment of death, and fought in a way that resembled that to a fault. It preferred to play with its prey, to slowly eat away and thus, giving a false sense of hope, only to soon brutally crush it into pieces as reality sets in.

Metatron was not the same. There was no false sense of hope; it was clear from the very beginning that there was a complete overwhelming difference in strength. The Archangel took the battle seriously from the very start.

The crimson red sword was soon knocked aside, sent spiraling away into the air before harmlessly plunging into the ground. The shotgun sheath replied in kind, by unloading a pelt of bullets into Metatron's chest. The Dust-fueled rounds had no chance of penetrating the Archangel's breastplate. Soon, that too was knocked aside as a silver plated arm shot out, grasping the bull-Faunus by the neck.

Metatron lifted the struggling Faunus into the air before slamming him into the ground. Dirt and gravel flew into the atmosphere from the impact of the collision. A silver covered greave soon smashed against Adam Taurus' chest, pinning him into the ground. Adam let out a choked gasp as the Sword of Judgement held still, dangling dangerously close to the White Fang leader's neck.

It was over in a matter of minutes.

He had expected as much, when he had chosen to summon the Archangel. It was a simple testament as to how much of a threat he perceived Adam Taurus to be. He nodded towards Metatron, who deftly flipped its sword in-hand, before smashing the blunt side of it into the side of Adam Taurus' skull, knocking him out. With a slight bow of its head, the Archangel soon disappeared, shattering away in a shower of glass.

He turned his attention towards the fallen members of Team RWBY once more, and to his surprise, Weiss Schnee had already regained consciousness. She was also staring at him intensely with an unreadable expression. He simply stared back. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable, so he eventually broke the stalemate.

"Is there something wrong?"

Weiss blinked.

"N-nothing!" She stammered and quickly turned away, as a small blush lighted up her cheeks.

He wasn't sure what to think of that, so he didn't think much about it at all. Instead, he turned his attention to the remaining members of Team RWBY that he wasn't able to attend to yet. Ruby seemed to be fine, aside from being unconscious. There weren't any noticeable injuries, so he simply murmured a quick Recarm spell.

Silver-colored irises soon began to slowly stir back to life. They rapidly blinked about, adjusting to the sudden incursion of light, before finally, settling down.

"H-huh…? What are you doing here Minato?" She asked, as if in a daze.

And then before he could answer, she all but jumped back up to her feet as her eyes frantically shot around the cavern.

"Oh my god, what happened with the White Fang and the train and," Ruby exclaimed, as the words began to fly out of her mouth at an even more frantic pace, "andohmygodthetrainweneedtostopit!"

He blinked.

"Can you repeat that?" He asked, "Slowly?"

She took a deep breath, calming herself down.

"We need to stop the train!"

"And _how_ are we going to do that Ruby?" Weiss interjected, "We can't exactly catch up to it anymore."

The younger huntress looked like she was about to retort before she frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's… A good point," She finally settled on, "But we have to do _something_!"

He left them to their conversation as he made his way over towards the last member of Team RWBY. He could worry about the train later; first, he needed to make sure everyone was alright.

Yang Xiao Long had seen better days; out of all of them, her injuries were the worst. He knelt down by her side and examined her wounds more closely. They were quite severe, deep cuts, bruises, and perhaps broken bones decorated her frame. It seemed that she must have been at the forefront of the attack that had taken out the rest of the team, Adam Taurus' strange retaliation ability no doubt.

A simple Dia spell would not be enough for this. He needed a much more powerful spell for injuries of this level, and access to higher level spells and incantations required a Persona. So, he reached for his evoker once more and brought it towards his head.

Once it sat neatly at the side of his temple, he pulled the trigger.

Titania, the Queen of Fairies was the one to answer the call. An angelic-like face along with lush locks of blonde hair proved that the stories of her legendary beauty were in fact, not exaggerations. But by no means did that mean she was a delicate little thing, for her magical prowess was second to none. She was also one of the few Persona that possessed the ability to cast higher level healing spells.

"Can you heal her?"

The Fairy Queen merely smiled and nodded her head as she began to glow in a familiar light.

Gradually, the older sister's wounds began to mend shut. Any broken bones were quickly rectified and any torn muscles were swiftly repaired. Such was the healing prowess of the Fairy Queen.

"Is Yang going to be alright?"

He blinked, surprised at the voice that suddenly spoke up from his side. It seemed that Ruby Rose had finished her conversation with her white-haired teammate some time ago and had knelt down by his side while he was focused on the summoning. He glanced over towards her and simply gave a small smile to ease her worry.

"She will be fine."

Leaving Titania to her work, he stood back up and began to make his way towards the final fallen figure. It was an older gentleman that he was unfamiliar with, but if he had to guess, the man was probably a mentor of some sort from Beacon Academy. His injuries, while not as severe as Yang's, were still bad enough that a simple Dia spell would not be enough.

He sighed, as he brought his evoker up once more.

Concurrent summoning. Normally, a Persona-user was limited to only being able to manifest one Persona at a time, else the mental toll would be too great. Even with the power of the Wild Card possessing the ability to house many a Persona in his soul, he was unable to summon more than one Persona at a time. Concurrent summoning was a new height that he managed to reach thanks in no small part to the Universe Arcana.

Still, Universe Arcana or not, bringing forth multiple Persona into existence was a tiresome task.

Nonetheless, he pulled the trigger once more. Burdensome or not, it was not in his nature to deny help to someone that required it. Norn, the Goddess of Fate, was the next one to answer the call. She was said to have lived beneath the roots of Yggdrasil while weaving the threads of fate. And like Titania, she too possessed the ability to use high-end healing spells and incantations.

"Can you heal him?"

The Goddess of Fate merely gave a curt nod, as the large clock that she sat atop of began to turn backwards. Standing back up, he left the Goddess of Fate to her work as he dusted himself off. That was when his phone began to ring. Pulling out the small electronic device from his pocket, he briefly glanced at the caller ID before frowning.

A troublesome person was calling.

Resisting the urge to sigh, he made sure to step out of earshot from the conscious members of Team RWBY, before he answered the call. Ruby gave him a strange look before she turned her attention back towards her sister. Weiss appeared to be staring him down once more, with that same unreadable expression on her face. It unnerved him, but he tried to pay it no mind as he answered the call.

"… Hello?"

"Hey kid! How're things on your end?"

He didn't know why, but the tone that the thief had replied in irked him.

"… Where are you right now Roman?"

"Uh-uh-uh, I asked you first kid."

Once more, he found the start of a headache begin to come on. He wasn't sure if it was from the concurrent summoning or if it was from speaking with Roman. Both instances had been shown to bring about headaches in the past after all.

"… I fought with Adam Taurus."

There was a slight pause on the other end.

"Well now, since I'm on the phone with you right now, I'm going to assume that you won that fight."

"The train Roman," He urged, "Are you on it right now?"

"Geez _relax_ kid, I've already gotten it taken care of. I'm a professional, I always fulfill my part of the bargain."

"So, you stopped it?"

"Well, since you're now speaking to the guy that just saved Vale, what do you think?"

He let out a sigh of relief. That was one less problem he had to deal with.

"You know," Roman continued, "I should get a reward for the stunt I just pulled. I'm thinking along the lines of a couple million Lien or maybe a full pardon for all my past _and_ future crimes."

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at that.

"The thought of doing some good in the world isn't rewarding enough Roman?" He drawled.

"Hah," The thief laughed, "Doing things for free? Doing _good_ deeds for free? I feel like I want to puke instead."

That was a thought that he didn't need in his mind.

"It's not as if you don't have any ulterior motives for this."

"Eh, alright I'll give you that one," Roman replied, unperturbed, " Anyway, enough bullshit, there's something you should—"

Whatever the thief was saying, he didn't get to hear as his phone soon cut off. Frowning, he took a glance at the screen and saw that his signal had gotten too low. In retrospect, he should have expected that, since he _was_ currently deep in an underground cavern. Honestly, he was surprised that the original call even got through to begin with.

Shaking his head, he put the phone back into his pocket and made his way back over towards Team RWBY. It seemed that Titania and Norn had finished their respective tasks and were now standing by for new orders. Weiss seemed to have taken an interest in the two fairylike Personas and appeared to be examining them quite closely.

He dispelled them and returned the two back to the Sea of Souls.

Weiss quickly whirled around and shot him a glare. He simply returned it with a weary smile. While he didn't have a problem with the white-haired huntress' curiosity, he'd rather not keep two Personas out if he didn't need to.

"Sorry, it gets quite tiring keeping two of them up at once."

The white-haired girl simply sighed.

"No, it's fine. I shouldn't have gotten angry," The girl paused, as if unsure whether or not she wanted to continue before she finally relented, "Those summons… Could they… Are they in some way related to your Semblance?"

"Perhaps we could have this conversation at a later, more ideal time?"

Weiss frowned, as if considering the situation at hand, before reluctantly nodding.

"Yes, I suppose that's for the best."

"Uhm… Guys?" Ruby interjected, as she stepped in between them, "What about the train?"

Weiss sighed.

"We can't do anything about the train Ruby. Half the team and Dr. Oobleck are still unconscious, not to mention the fact that we have no way of catching up to it," The white-haired girl explained, "The only thing we can do now, is to call the headmaster and warn him about the situation."

Ruby frowned as well, but eventually nodded.

"Alright. I can't get a signal down here though, we're going to have to go back to the surface to make a call."

He could have told them that the train had been taken care of, but thought better of it. After what happened here today, he was more than likely going to be under a lot of scrutiny from now on. A certain headmaster came to mind. It probably wouldn't do him any good to let others know of his connection with an infamous criminal. The problem had apparently been dealt with anyway, and the city was safe.

That was good enough for him.

A yawn threatened to break loose as he stifled it back down. Eyelids felt a good deal heavier than normal, and there were many a time where he had to force them back open. He was exhausted and would like nothing better than to pass out on his bed.

"Since there are three people, we can each carry one person with us back to the surface," Ruby Rose continued, "And then we'll make the call to Professor Ozpin and a request for a transport as well."

"What about the White Fang leader?" Weiss asked.

Ruby blinked once, before her eyes expanded like saucers in a panic.

"Wait, he's still here?!" She exclaimed as she fumbled with her scythe, "Where is he?!"

"I don't think he's going to be bothering us for a while Ruby," Weiss replied, as she pointed in the direction of the unconscious Adam Taurus, "I can almost guarantee that."

Ruby raised an eyebrow as she glanced in the direction that her partner pointed towards.

"No way! You beat him Weiss?"

Weiss simply sighed.

"As much as I would love to take credit for such a feat," She grumbled, "No, I did not defeat him," She tilted her head towards his direction, "It was our mutual friend over here."

Ruby turned towards him in awe.

"Whoa, you're pretty incredible Minato! You can fight _and_ heal people?"

He simply shrugged, unsure of how to respond to the admiration. There were those in SEES that had expressed similar sentiments to him before. And just like before, he found himself shying away from such praise.

It still made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

* * *

It didn't take too long for the help to arrive.

He was surprised at the amount of airships that had come though. Some of them he recognized, such as the Bullheads that were used by the huntsmen and huntresses of Beacon Academy. Others, he didn't, and some that he simply knew from their colors and designs. The large Atlesian gunship that had docked nearby was one that wasn't too hard to recognize as one of General Ironwood's elite fleet. He had seen that ship on the news numerous times as of late, probably because of the Vytal festival coming up.

He watched as Atlas soldiers and androids scurried about, dealing in one task or another.

Adam Taurus had been taken in by the Atlas soldiers, no doubt to be imprisoned or interrogated. The injured members of Team RWBY and their professor had been carefully loaded onto a Bullhead that was now on-route back to Beacon Academy. Naturally, Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee went back alongside the rest of their team.

Unfortunately for him, he wasn't allowed to leave the premise just yet.

Of course, the rather hyperactive leader of Team RWBY had argued on his behalf, and while he was appreciative, he simply waved her off. He knew that something like this was in the making for a while now, ever since that conversation he had with the headmaster of Beacon Academy. While Weiss was not as vocal as her younger leader was, the white-haired girl gave him an apologetic look nonetheless.

He had gotten himself far too involved to back out now.

So, he found himself biding his time, sitting by a newly started campfire as he watched Atlas military personal scurry about. There were multiple instances in which he had to catch himself from falling asleep. Truly, he must've been tired if he was able to doze off out here in the freezing cold.

He could feel heavy eyelids begin to droop once more.

"Minato Arisato?"

The voice that stirred him awake was a strange one, almost mechanical even. Begrudgingly, he wiped at his eyes, forcing them awake as he took a good look at the source of the mechanical-like voice. It was an android, an Atlas one, judging from the color scheme. He had seen a few of them walk by and a couple of them on the news, but had never directly interacted with one before.

"Yes?" He eventually asked.

"Please come with me."

He watched as the Atlesian android began to walk away.

It was humanoid in shape, but that was about the only human-like aspect of the machine. There was a distinct lack of facial features, and instead, there was only a simple black visor. They seemed to possess some intelligence, but nothing on the level of the androids that he was familiar with.

But then again, Aigis was a special case.

And then they were off, the android and him. He followed the machine closely, like a shadow, as they made their way towards the large Atlesian gunship. Various other androids and soldiers appeared to be running about, in and out of the ship with whatever tasks they had been assigned to.

If he had to describe the interior of the ship in a single word, it would be clean.

In spite of the ship being mostly white in color, he could not see a single speck of dust or grime anywhere. The place was as spotless as it was polished, as if it were a brand new car fresh out of the factory.

They eventually stopped in front of a door. The android stood to the side and motioned with its arms to step inside. He raised an eyebrow, but obliged nonetheless.

The door opened with a hiss, and he stepped in. His gaze was immiedietly drawn to the two other figures in the room. A stern looking man that was seated behind a desk with his hands clasped over one another, and another older gentleman that was sitting on a chair at the side of the room, near a window.

He recognized both of them. Headmaster Ozpin, who he had met in-person once before, and General Ironwood, who he had only seen on the news. They appeared to have been in the middle of a rather heated conversation before he stepped into the room.

The general gestured at an empty seat in front of the desk.

"Please, sit."

He did, and for a moment, nobody said a thing.

"Would you like something to drink?" The general eventually asked, "Tea perhaps? Or would you be more partial to coffee like Oz?"

He took a curious glance towards the headmaster.

"I would suggest the latter," The headmaster smiled, "Atlas makes some fine coffee."

"Coffee then, please."

He'd probably need it anyway, before he ended up dozing off again.

General Ironwood simply nodded, before he stood up and reached for a small coffee jug that stood off on another table, on the other side of the room. The general deftly poured the caffeinated drink into a small glass teacup before setting it on the desk in front of him.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," The general replied, before taking a seat once more, "Now, on to business then?"

"I believe proper introductions are in order first, James," The headmaster interjected, "Although, I do believe you and I have already been acquainted, Mr. Arisato."

"Ah, of course, where are my manners?" The general held out his hand, "I am General Ironwood, the headmaster of Atlas Academy."

He stared at the hand for a moment, before finally grasping it in a firm shake. The general returned the grip with an equally firm shake, but he couldn't help but notice the rather artificial texture he felt underneath the general's gloves. A prosthetic arm possibly?

Of course, he kept these thoughts to himself.

"Minato Arisato," He replied, before hesitating for a moment, "… Café server."

"And quite the intriguing café server as well," The general eventually replied, "Team RWBY claims to have received the tip-off for the White Fang base stationed here, from none other than you," The general placed his elbows on the desk and folded his hands together once more, "Judging from your past interactions with the White Fang, I'm inclined to believe them."

General Ironwood paused, as if to let the implications sink in.

"The question is," The general continued, "Why do you have that information?"

He glanced over towards the headmaster once more.

"Do you suspect me to be an enemy?"

Ozpin took a sip from his drink before answering.

"Oh no, nothing like that. We're simply curious about you."

"Is that why you're interrogating me?" He dryly quipped.

"You misunderstand," The headmaster smoothly replied, "This isn't an interrogation. You don't have to answer anything you don't want to."

"Oz—"

"James," The headmaster interrupted, "You were already pushing it when you forced him to come here. I won't stand by any longer if you plan to interrogate him."

Ozpin took another sip from his coffee mug before he placed it back onto the desk.

"He is still a civilian James," The headmaster eventually continued, "In case you've forgotten; it's against the law to interrogate a civilian."

The general scowled.

"Oz! It's obvious that he's affiliated _with_ the White Fang or somebody _in_ the White Fang!"

The headmaster simply held up a hand in a placating manner.

"James, he participated in the capture of Adam Taurus. Is that not enough to prove his good intentions?"

Ironwood narrowed his eyes.

"You're far too trusting for your own good Oz. We know next to nothing about him, you've seen his file! For all intents and purposes, he shouldn't even exist! I won't keep standing around doing nothing while our enemies continue to plot in the shadows!"

He couldn't help but get the feeling that the two men in front of him probably argued with one another often. He was no stranger in having to bear witness to arguments; SEES had similar outbursts of their own quite frequently after all. It was somewhat annoying for them to argue as if he wasn't here though.

The headmaster simply took another sip from his drink, as if he were used to dealing with such outbursts. For a brief moment, there was a silence in the air, for nobody said a word. The only sounds that could be heard were the occasional roars of an engine coming from the outside.

"Mr. Arisato, a question for you, if I may."

He slowly nodded.

"General Ironwood's men have found the train that Team RWBY was referring to, stopped on the tracks halfway towards Vale" The headmaster explained, "The weapons and explosives were all accounted for. However, in regards to personal, there was nobody to be seen."

Ozpin stood up and walked over towards the coffee jug, pouring himself another cup.

"My question to you is," The headmaster continued, as he sat back down, "Do you know anything about this?"

He hesitated for a moment, before he slowly nodded his head.

While he was still not sure what exactly to think of headmaster Ozpin, he believed that the man had good intentions. The man had been nothing but truthful to him from the start, and he believed that he owed the man the same courtesy; although he was still not a fan of all this cloak-and-dagger secrecy.

"Care to explain, Mr. Arisato?"

It was a question that could be loaded with repercussions. He thought long and hard about how he wanted to answer it. In the meantime, he decided to take a sip from his drink. The headmaster was right about one thing, the coffee was indeed of high quality.

"The White Fang have a traitor," He eventually replied.

"And you are in some-way affiliated with this individual," The general stated, "That's where you've been getting all of this information on the White Fang."

He nodded at that.

"I could have you arrested for colluding with a criminal."

He tensed up at that, and for a moment, there was an equally tense silence in the air.

"You will do no such thing general," Ozpin declared, "You've kept an eye on him James, he has done nothing thus far to even insinuate that he is an enemy."

He frowned at that.

"You said I wasn't being watched."

The headmaster merely smiled.

"And you are not," The headmaster explained, "You have been however, getting heavily involved with one of my teams that are being watched."

Ah, of course. He sighed at that, the headmaster of Beacon Academy was as clever as he looked.

"Your affiliate," General Ironwood began, "Who is it?"

He glanced over towards the headmaster once more.

"I do not have to answer questions that I do not wish to?"

"You do not," The headmaster agreed, "We will not force you."

He nodded at that and kept his silence.

He had made an agreement with Roman, and a part of that agreement was to keep their… "Partnership" a secret. Roman was rather insistent when it came to that, and while he did not particularly _like_ the annoying thief, Roman had kept his side of the bargain so far, and he intended to do the same.

The general sighed in exasperation.

"Fine Oz, we'll do it your way," The general begrudgingly relented, "These… Abilities of yours, are you willing to answer that?"

"Persona."

It was a short response, but it was the truth nonetheless.

"Persona," The headmaster repeated, as if getting a feel for the word, "Would you care to elaborate, Mr. Arisato?"

He stifled a yawn as he nodded.

"They are a manifestation of the soul."

"How very intriguing. Similar in a way to a Semblance," The headmaster pondered, "But, not the same?"

He shook his head at that.

"Hmm, very interesting indeed. If Dr. Oobleck were here he would be having a field day," The headmaster mused, "Ah, right. Thank you Mr. Arisato, for coming to the aid of my colleague and students."

He simply drowsily nodded once more, as another yawn threatened to escape.

"It is indeed getting quite late," Ozpin supplied, "We should continue this conversation another time."

"Oz, you can't be serious."

"It's fine James. I am sure Mr. Arisato will be open to continuing this conversation at another time, when he is not as exhausted."

He found himself nodding once again, albeit with a lot more vigor this time around.

"We all have other duties to attend to as well general," The headmaster continued, "I am sure that whatever other questions you have, Mr. Taurus would be more than happy to oblige."

General Ironwood merely sighed.

"Very well Oz."

"I bid you a good night general," The headmaster replied, as he stood up "Ah, would you like a ride back to the city Mr. Arisato?"

He nodded.

"Please."

"This way then."

He gave the general a slight nod, in which the man curtly returned, before he followed the headmaster out of the room. The mechanical door behind them closed with a hiss, as he walked down the very same hallway of the gunship that he had passed by before. Only this time, he could feel a lot more eyes on him, more than likely because of who his new walking partner was.

The headmaster seemed to notice his discomfort and offered a small smile.

"Do you not like the spotlight, Mr. Arisato?"

He shook his head at that.

"Hmm… Well that's not good, many would call you a hero for what you did for Vale today."

He frowned.

"I would prefer to remain anonymous."

"Well, if you insist, I could arrange that."

"Thank you."

They eventually left the confines of the Atlesian ship and stopped in front of a familiar looking Bullhead. He recognized it as one of the many Bullheads that belonged to Beacon Academy. With a slight hiss, the door soon popped open and headmaster Ozpin beckoned him in with a tilt of his head.

"After you."

He stepped in and took a seat in the corner of the room. The headmaster did the same and took a seat in the opposite corner. The doors to the Bullhead soon closed with a familiar hiss and the airship's engines soon began to rev, preparing for takeoff.

He had to stop himself from dozing off as he remembered something.

"Headmaster Ozpin."

The older man who had his face glued to his scroll, looked up.

"Yes?"

'The White Fang," He began, "Someone else is pulling the strings in the background."

The headmaster raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You are quite well informed Mr. Arisato. Now I find myself curious as to just exactly how high up on the totem pole that affiliate of yours is."

He hesitated at that.

"... I can't tell you who it is."

The headmaster merely gave a knowing smile.

"Yes, I understand. We must all keep our sources safe," The man replied, "Forgive my interruption, please continue."

He nodded.

"The one that is pulling the strings, it is a woman that goes by the name of Cinder Fall."

He had expected many reactions, but not one of confusion.

"That… Was not the name that I was expecting you to give me," The headmaster eventually replied, "Nor is it a name that I am familiar with, I will try to look into it though."

He blinked at that, at the implications of his words.

"Who were you expecting then?"

The man merely smiled back in response.

"Like you, I also have information that I would rather not divulge. I am sure you understand."

* * *

He was tired.

No, he was exhausted. It was a feeling that he been feeling a lot as of late. It reminded him of the days spent with SEES scouring up the tower. It was a good feeling to have, a tiring one, but a familiar one. Perhaps that was why he failed to notice the other presence in his house until he turned on the lights.

"Hey! You mind turning that back off? I'm trying to watch a movie here."

He blinked.

He had to blink multiple times in fact, to make sure that he wasn't just seeing things. There, sitting sprawled out on his couch was a sight that he had never thought he would see. Roman Torchwick was sitting on his couch watching a movie.

He felt an eyebrow twitch.

"Roman… What are you doing here?"

Roman smirked.

"Well, I _was_ going to tell you," The thief began, "But then you went and hung up on me."

For just a brief moment, he contemplated firing off a Megido at the man. But, that would also destroy his apartment in the process, which was something he'd rather not do, no matter how annoying the man in front of him could be. He walked over towards the man and snatched the remote from his hands, turning off the television.

"Roman."

"Geez kid, lighten up would ya?" The thief grumbled, "Alright here's the thing, I'm sure you know that after that stunt I just pulled, Cinder probably wants to roast me alive," The thief paused, and then shivered, "Actually, I take that back. She'd probably do worse."

He rolled his eyes, motioning for the man to get to the point.

"Alright, the thing is, I'd prefer to keep my limbs attached to my body, ya know? Especially when it comes to my neck. Cinder and her lackeys are probably raiding every single one of my safe-houses right about now," Roman continued, unperturbed, "And seeing as how I'm an infamous criminal, I can't exactly stay at some random hotel, right?"

He had a feeling that he knew where this conversation was going and he wasn't going to like it.

"No."

"Oh come on kid, you wouldn't deny the guy that just saved Vale now, would you?"

He resisted the urge to sigh. Roman had a point, by god the thief actually had a point he couldn't refute.

"Aren't you supposed to be some big-time crime boss or something?" He deadpanned, "You don't know _any_ other people that you can stay with?

"Yeah, let me tell you the problem with that assessment of yours," Roman replied, "You see, you're thinking of the _old_ Vale underworld. In this new underworld? Your either with Cinder, or you're in a body-bag."

….

He brought a hand up and kneaded the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger.

"Fine," He eventually relented, "You can stay."

The smug smirk that the thief wore instantly made him regret his decision.

"I thought you'd come around kid. See, this is why we—"

He didn't bother letting the man finish and began to make his way towards his room. He was tired and wanted nothing more than to slump into his mattress. The fatigue had finally caught up with him, and he felt like he was about to fall over any second now.

"Hey kid! Just so you know—"

He slammed the door shut. Whatever Roman had to say, it could wait until tomorrow. He tore off his jacket and tossed it to a corner of the room. Without even bothering to turn on the lights, he staggered into his bathroom and sloppily rinsed off the dried blood on his skin. While normally, he would've dug out something more comfortable to slip into, he was so tired that he couldn't be bothered and simply slumped into bed in his underwear.

….

Why did it smell like sweets?

Forcing his eyes open, he found himself staring into a pair of multi-colored irises. Oh, because Neopolitan was here. He closed his eyes once more and—

 _Wait what?!_

His eyelids shot open so quickly that he might have torn a muscle. There, laying in his bed, was Neopolitan, wearing perhaps the slyest grin he had ever seen. She simply stared at him, as if amused, and he stared back.

He felt an eyebrow twitch once more.

 _ **"ROMAN!"**_

* * *

 **Author's Notes-** Finally had some free time so I managed to get this chapter done, phew. Apologies if it's not up to par, this chapter was a bit of a struggle to write. I'm just glad that I managed to finish it and get it out of the way. Anyway, enough rambling from me.

As usual, thank you all for the support. Oh, and Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you all had a nice Christmas!

-SFX


	11. Chapter 11: When it Rains

**Chapter 11-**

 **When it Rains**

* * *

Yang hated hospitals.

The smell of bleach and other kinds of disinfectants always drove her crazy. All the different fluorescent tubes and trollies filled to the brim with sharp pointy objects made her feel like she was to be the next subject of some kind of science experiment. Not to mention the fact that you were always confined inside a small room, she was a free spirit at heart and never did like staying still for too long.

Beacon's infirmary wasn't exactly a hospital, but it was pretty damn close.

With a loud sigh, she tossed her scroll back onto the side of her sheets and leaned back against her pillow cushion. Tossing a quick glance towards her only other companion inside this medical cage of confinement, she could see Blake's face glued to the pages of another book. A stack of similar colored novels lined the table counter beside her partner's bed.

"You're actually enjoying this, aren't you Blake?"

The only immediate response was the sound of a page being flipped. Eventually, the black-haired Faunus shrugged; her Amber colored iris's never straying from the pages of her book.

"It's quiet," Blake finally replied, "And I finally have time to catch up on my reading."

Most people wouldn't have noticed, because of her gloomy demeanor, but Yang had been around Blake long enough to tell that she was in a good mood. And it wasn't because they were currently stuck in the infirmary with nothing to do. Blake had always had free time to read, but she had been so obsessed with the White Fang as of late that whatever free time she did have was always spent on said group.

Or perhaps, it was spent worrying about a specific individual.

She would probably never know for sure, since Blake was not someone that enjoyed talking about her past. They knew some details of their teammate; that she had been involved in the White Fang and had been rather close with Adam Taurus at one point in her life, but nothing really concrete.

The thought of the red-haired Faunus immediately caused an uncomfortable feeling to well up inside of her stomach. It was an unfamiliar feeling for her, one that she had probably not felt since she had been a child. She glanced down at her sheets and found that her hands had unknowingly tightened up and had dug into her bedsheets with a vice-like grip.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to relax.

How long had it been since she had felt so utterly powerless? Since she had felt so… Weak? Memories of a time long ago began to resurface into the front of her mind, of two little girls, a small wagon, and the dark woods in the outskirts of Patch. She had been too young back then, too _weak_ to protect Ruby, to stop _mom_ from leaving.

She gritted her teeth.

In the end, even after all these years, in the face of _real_ danger, was she still just that powerless little girl from back then? The thought made her angry, and she could feel her temper begin to flare. Dad had always told her to watch her temper and to keep it in check, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"Yang…? Are you alright?"

She blinked.

Blake stared at her, and while her face might have seemed impassive, Yang could see the worry in her partner's eyes. The novel lay forgotten at the side of her bed. Yang forced a smile onto her face.

"Who me?" She waved off, "Pfft yeah, I'm fine, just really bored."

Blake frowned, before reluctantly reaching for her book once more.

"… You can talk to me about it," Blake eventually began, her face hidden from view behind the covers of the novel in her hands, "We're partners, right?"

Yang couldn't help but feel the fake smile on her face begin to morph into a genuine one.

"Yeah, we are," She wholeheartedly agreed, "I'm good though, really."

Yang was… Happy to hear that her partner was there for her, it wasn't lost on her that they had this exact conversation a week earlier, only this time, the roles were reversed. But, Blake had enough of her own problems to deal with; she didn't need to add her own issues into the mix. It was _her_ job to make sure everyone was doing alright anyway, and despite the fact that none of them besides Ruby were related to her, Yang considered everybody in her team to be her family.

She'd shoulder her own burdens and everybody else's too.

After all, she _was_ the big sister.

* * *

Their room was a lot quieter than usual. Though, that was to be expected, since half of their team was still in the infirmary and were probably stuck there for another day or two. Darkness covered one-half of the room, while a single nightlight atop her drawer acted as the only source of light for the other half of their small dormitory.

Ruby swiped through another news article on her scroll.

 **WHITE FANG ATTACK ON VALE THAWRTED BY BEACON ACADEMY STUDENTS**

She took a brief glance at the contents of the article, skimming through it, before she swiped through to the next one. Similar headlines that involved the White Fang's attack in one way or another filled her scroll's screen as she lazily skimmed through the different pieces. It had only been a day since they had returned to the academy, and word of the attack had already gotten out to most of the major news stations.

Her team had been accredited as the main ones responsible for stopping the attack, with a couple of mentions of Professor Oobleck along with General Ironwood's troops here and there. Words of praise like "young heroes" or "gifted huntresses-in-training" for her team were littered throughout the many articles that she had skimmed through. But, no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find a single article that even mentioned her blue-haired friend.

"Hey Weiss," She began, tossing her scroll to the side, "How come none of the news articles mention Minato?"

Her white-haired partner, who had been working on her homework, put her pencil down.

"I'm not surprised at that," Weiss eventually replied, "Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood probably kept him off record for a reason."

Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"Oh... Why would they do that?"

"I don't know," Weiss shrugged, "You'd have to ask one of them yourself. Why does it matter?"

"Because! Doesn't it seem wrong for him to not get any mention at all?" Ruby questioned, a slight frown on her face, "I mean, he was the one that ended up doing everything in the end. It's not like…"

She found herself trailing off. Everyone acted like they were heroes, but it wasn't as if they _did_ anything. He had been the one to find the hideout, and the one that had stopped the White Fang.

 _They_ hadn't really done anything at all.

"I doubt he cares about receiving recognition Ruby. With the way he is, he's probably _glad_ that they left him out of the papers," Weiss nonchalantly replied, "But it's not about that, is it? Something else is bugging you."

Ruby blinked.

"What? No!" She vehemently denied, shaking her head, "Nothing's bugging me!"

Weiss gave her a pointed look.

"Ruby, we're teammates _and_ bunkmates," The Schnee heiress knowingly pointed out, "I've been living with you long enough to know when something is bothering you."

For a brief moment, the scythe-wielder remained quiet before she eventually gave in to her partner's unrelenting gaze.

"Alright fine," She relented, "Something's bugging me."

"I know," Weiss nodded, a slight smug smile on her face, "Now, are you going to tell me what it is or should I go back to finishing up my homework?"

Ruby looked down at her legs as they hung from her bedframe.

"It's just… We didn't… We _couldn't_ do anything. If it weren't for Minato, who knows what might have happened."

Weiss sighed.

"Once again, let me be the voice of reason here Ruby. We're _students_ , first year huntresses-in-training at that," The Schnee heiress began, "Just because we beat Torchwick and a couple of untrained thugs, that doesn't make us qualified huntsmen. Adam Taurus is a notorious criminal that is a problem even for trained huntsmen, what did you think was going to happen to a couple of first-year students and their professor?"

Ruby kicked her legs as they continued to dangle from her bedframe. She knew that, she knew that she was still just a kid, that they were all still first-year huntresses fighting against adults. But that didn't change the fact that she wanted to help, that she wanted to be the hero like in the fairytales she loved so much.

The helplessness that she had felt, that powerlessness, it bothered her a great deal. It reminded of her of the very same feelings that she had felt when her mother had died. If she weren't so weak, so powerless, she could've prevented her mother's death, she could've saved her. If she were stronger, she could help more people, save them even.

"I know what you're thinking Ruby," Weiss continued, "Look, we're still huntresses-in-training, it's to be expected that we would lose against someone with years of experience. As much as it pains me to say this, we are still children trying to compete against adults, there is nothing that we could've done," She sighed, "This is exactly why I was against this plan from the start. I hope that you realize, if it weren't for Minato's timely intervention, we might not be here right now."

"You sound like my uncle…" She mumbled, "And it's not as if Minato's that much older than us anyway."

Weiss pursed her lips at that.

" _That_ … Is different."

"What do you mean, different?" Ruby asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"What I _mean_ is that," Weiss began, "You can't compare him to us."

Ruby frowned.

"And why not?"

"Because, he's not _normal_ , and honestly, he shouldn't even _exist_ ," The Schnee heiress sighed once again, "I don't even know what to think about him. He's an enigma."

Ruby's eyebrows furrowed.

"What's an enigma…?" She dubiously asked, "Wait, forget that! What do you mean he shouldn't even exist?"

"Well… Blake didn't tell anyone this, but she asked me if I could do a background check on him," Weiss explained, "So, when we went to the CCT that day, I did a little digging through the Schnee Dust Company's records on the side."

Ruby watched as her white-haired partner rose up from her seat and walked across the room, to where her scroll was currently plugged into an outlet. After a couple of seconds of tapping away at the screen, Weiss walked back over towards her desk and sat back down. She watched as her partner continued to tap away at her scroll.

"And…?" Ruby asked, impatiently.

"Hold on, I'm getting there," Weiss replied as she continued to tap at her scroll, "Alright, here, catch."

Ruby easily caught the electronic device as it flew through the air. Quickly flipping it over, she was greeted to a screen with a folder that was labeled simply as, "Minato Arisato". She opened the folder by gingerly giving it a quick tap with her index finger, before she frowned.

"Uh… Weiss, there's barely anything here."

"Exactly," Weiss nodded, a slight frown etched on her face, "Aside from the most basic and bare minimum surface level of details, there was absolutely nothing in the database about him."

"So…? Ruby questioned, "There's a lot of people that aren't in the CCT's database Weiss."

"Yes, and while that _is_ true," Her white-haired partner agreed, "You don't find it strange Ruby? That someone of his…" She paused, as if contemplating about what word to use, "… Caliber, would be working as a Café server of all things?"

Ruby simply shrugged.

"Not really. Maybe he likes his job?"

"There's one problem that I have with that assumption Ruby. He's strong, strong enough that he's had to have been a huntsman at some point in his life." Weiss pointed out, "And if he were a former huntsman, you would think that there would be records of him, perhaps at the very least, information about what huntsman academy he attended or something of the sort. And yet, there is absolutely nothing."

"Maybe he was trained by his family?" Ruby supplied, "I don't think I really learned that much from the academy anyway. I mean, everything that I learned was from my uncle Qrow."

Weiss held out her hand and a small glyph began to form in the air.

"Perhaps if this were a different case, I could've accepted an explanation like that," The Schnee heiress eventually began, "But not with him, not after what I've seen."

Ruby watched as the blue-colored glyph in the air began to whirl and spin. She could _feel_ the Aura that began to radiate from the glyph as it continued to spin, faster and faster. And then, something began to appear. It was a faint, almost translucent exoskeleton of what appeared to be a Beuwolf. It was a fleeting sight, for as briefly as it appeared; it quickly shattered away along with the glyph that it had emerged from.

"Summoning is a unique ability that only someone from the Schnee family can possess," Weiss continued, unperturbed by the failed summon, "There has never been a case in history where someone other than a Schnee has performed a summoning."

Ruby blinked.

"Oh," The scythe-wielder paused, "… Oh my god, then does that mean Minato is your long lost brother?!"

"What? No!" Weiss vehemently denied, "How in the world did you come to _that_ conclusion? For one thing, we look nothing alike!"

"Well…" Ruby sheepishly began, "I mean you _did_ say that only someone from your family can summon right? And if I really squint, I _think_ that I can see the resemblance?"

"Ruby, I think I would've known if I had a long lost sibling," Weiss deadpanned, "Also, his way of summoning is completely different. He doesn't rely on glyphs like how my family does. Anyway, that's beside the point! The real problem here is how could someone like him have gone unnoticed and _not_ be in the largest database in the world?"

Ruby raised a curious eyebrow.

"What's the big deal?"

Weiss rolled her eyes.

" _The big deal_ is that under normal circumstances, there is no possible way someone like _him_ could _not_ be in the database. I know firsthand how the system works Ruby, and Atlas is _very_ thorough with how they compile their information. He was either removed from the database, or he was purposely kept hidden from it in the first place. Both of which, could lead to some very damning accusations."

Ruby frowned.

"Weiss, Minato's not a bad person."

"And I'm not saying that he is," The Schnee-heiress replied, "It's just that he's got something to hide, and whether or not that's a good or bad thing, remains to be seen."

Minato wasn't a bad person.

She was never the best when it came to understanding people. She wasn't like her sister; social interaction had always been a rather awkward thing for her. That wasn't to say that she didn't _like_ meeting people, only that it was difficult for her to comprehend the social nuances that everyone seemed to take for granted.

Some would call her a weapons maniac, and they would be right. She loved weapons because unlike people, they were simple and understandable. It was easy to analyze a weapon and understand how every little piece of machinery that made up that weapon clicked together in harmony. You couldn't do the same to a person, they wouldn't simply allow you into the inner workings of their mind.

She didn't know much about Minato Arisato.

While she'd _like_ to consider them to be friends, she wasn't sure how he viewed her. They didn't really talk much after all, but then again, from what she'd seen, he didn't really talk much to begin with. In a way, his reserved personality reminded her a lot of Blake. And just like Blake, whatever he had to hide, she was sure that it wouldn't change her opinion of him or who he was.

To her, Minato Arisato was a hero.

* * *

He found himself standing on the familiar campgrounds of Beacon Academy.

Normally, he'd be at work right now, but because of the rather dreary weather, it had been an extremely slow day. So, in the end, Charlotte decided to close up the store early. With his responsibility to his work having been satisfied, he found himself with the unusual problem of having all of this excess free time. He could've gone home, but he found himself curious as to how Team RWBY was doing after the incident at Mt. Glenn.

Headmaster Ozpin had wanted a follow-up on their initial meeting either way, so he was more or less killing two birds with one stone. One way or another, Headmaster Ozpin or General Ironwood were going to try and find a way to get answers from him, so he'd rather do it on his own terms. And while the White Fang might've been stopped, he couldn't shake the feeling that something bigger was going on in the background.

The rain continued to pour down as he walked down the archway towards the tower in the middle of the campus. Students dressed in various different uniforms, probably from other huntsmen academies here for the Vytal festival, hurried about the campus, most likely rushing to whatever classes they had next. It had been a long time since he had felt this feeling of nostalgia, of being a student once more, as he watched all the huntsmen-in-training go through their daily academic routines.

The rest of the trek towards the tower was as uneventful as expected. A couple of students here and there would occasionally cast a curious look towards his direction, but only for a brief moment, before they turned their attention back to whatever they were doing at the time.

It wasn't long before he found himself in a rather elaborate looking elevator, riding it all the way up towards the top floor. Slowly, but steadily, he watched as the lights on the buttons flickered past the various floors, before finally stopping on the very last one.

The headmaster's office.

The doors opened with a slight hiss and he was greeted with one of the more bizarre design schemes he had ever seen in a long time. Headmaster Ozpin seemed to have a fondness for clocks, or rather, the various cogs and gears that usually made up a clock. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee hung in the air, no doubt because of the white-haired man that was currently seated in the middle of the room, behind a desk with such an intricate design that it looked as if it belonged in an art museum rather than an office.

"Ah, I've been expecting you," Ozpin began, "Please, take a seat."

Eyeing the empty chair nearby, he obliged.

"Sadly, the general is currently preoccupied, so I'm afraid he won't be able to make this meeting," The headmaster continued, "I'm sure you realize, that with the Vytal festival looming near, all of us headmasters are quite busy during this time of the year."

He nodded at that.

He could only imagine the amount of planning and work that went along with setting up the Vytal festival, as well as the pressure that came along with it. After all, any problems that occurred during the festival would have a negative impact on the kingdom that was the acting host at the time. It didn't take a genius to realize that the economic consequences would be quite severe if anything were to go wrong.

"Well now, if you would, how about we continue on from where we last left off, Mr. Arisato?"

He nodded in agreement.

"… What do you wish to know?"

The headmaster folded his hands against each other.

"Tell me, Mr. Arisato, just what exactly do you think Aura is?"

He blinked.

He had been expecting questions pertaining to his Personas, or perhaps even his history, or the lack thereof. What the headmaster had asked however, was something that he had definitely not been expecting. For just a brief moment, he hesitated, as he thought about how he wanted to answer that question.

"… It is a manifestation of the soul."

The headmaster took a sip from his mug.

"Indeed it is. And did you know that the form this manifestation takes is one that protects us, like an invisible shield?" Ozpin asked, quizzically, "It protects us from harm, it heals our injuries, and it makes us stronger, quicker."

The headmaster set his mug back onto the table.

"From what I've been able to gather," Ozpin continued, unperturbed, "Your soul specifically, manifests itself in a _very_ unique way. I am not a scientist, so I will not press you for answers as to why that is. However, what I do wish to know is what _else_ you can do?"

Now _that_ , was a question that he been expecting. At this point, it was no longer a well-kept secret that he was different from the huntresses and huntsmen of the world. Honesty was an important aspect when it came to building trust, and the headmaster had been honest with him so far. Of course, while the headmaster _was_ honest, he wasn't exactly transparent either.

Nonetheless, he would extend the same courtesy.

Slowly, he held out his palm.

 _Agi._

A very small and controlled flame began to dance around his palm and fingertips. It was a weak little thing that barely had enough intensity to keep itself from getting snuffed out, but it served its purpose by providing a demonstration. He clasped his hand shut, before slowly opening it again, only this time, rather than a flicker of fire; it was a small translucent shard of ice.

He repeated this process, as he went through a few of the basic incantations for some of his lower-level elemental spells. They were low-level spells that he had picked up during the climb of the early floors of Tartarus. Once he finished displaying the spells, he clasped his hand shut and let it slowly drop back towards his pockets.

It was but a small demonstration, nothing but a tiny fraction of what he learned from his journey scouring up the tower. There was no need to show too much, after all, it wouldn't be good for him to attract even more attention to himself.

Headmaster Ozpin had not uttered a word throughout the entire demonstration; the expression on his face was an unreadable one.

"Your case is quite the intriguing one, Mr. Arisato," Ozpin eventually said, "I cannot recall if there has ever been a case quite like yours. Those powers of yours, if certain people were to find out about them, you would without a doubt, find yourself in grave danger."

He raised an eyebrow at that.

"… And just _who_ are those people?"

The headmaster stood up from his seat and slowly made his way towards the window.

"There are those out there who wish to instill great harm into the world," Ozpin cryptically replied, "As you can imagine, they would be very interested in powers like yours."

Before he could respond, the headmaster spun around and looked him in the eye.

"I'm going to be honest with you; I am not sure what to make of you yet, Mr. Arisato," Ozpin continued, "However, I think that you could play a big role in the potential battles to come."

He kept his silence, unsure of where the man was going with his monologue.

"The general believes that you are a danger, an unknown that should be carefully monitored, and knowing James, in a cell more than likely," Ozpin persisted on, "I do not share his sentiments."

The headmaster walked back towards his desk and slowly sat back down.

"Tell me, Mr. Arisato, what do you know about the story of the four Maidens?"

He blinked.

"… The fairytale?"

He had read a book about the story of the four Maidens once in the past. It was from a book of fairytales that he had gotten from Tukson. He was familiar with the story, but unsure of why the headmaster had decided to bring it up.

"That is the one," Ozpin nodded, "Would you believe me, if I told you that fairytale was real?"

He stared at the man, for a brief moment.

"… I would," He eventually answered.

Why wouldn't he?

After all, not only had he seen far stranger things, he had experienced them first hand. Tartarus, The Dark Hour, the Shadows, and far too many others to count. Not to mention the fact that he was more or less an alien from another planet. In comparison, a fairytale turned into reality was far more believable than some of the things that he had gone through in his lifetime.

The headmaster let out a light chuckle.

"You are the first person to believe me without question."

He simply shrugged.

"I've seen stranger things."

"Oh, I'm sure," Ozpin agreed wholeheartedly, "And as curious as I am about your history, that is not what is important right now. What _is_ important is that these Maidens are real, and that a Maiden's powers are not permanent."

He furrowed his brow.

"They are not permanent?"

The headmaster shook her head.

"A Maiden's power is passed on, upon the death of that particular Maiden," The headmaster explained, "We are not sure of the exact circumstances, but what we do know is that the powers are passed on to the person that was in the last thoughts of that particular Maiden. I'm sure that you can imagine that there are those out there who wish to take the Maiden's powers for themselves."

He blinked.

That was a lot of new information to take in. If the Maidens were as powerful as they were depicted to be in the stories, the fact that one could steal their powers, was a harrowing thought. Was that the goal of the ones that were pulling all the strings behind the White Fang attacks?

"This peace that we have known for so long is now at risk," Ozpin continued, "The future… Is uncertain, and thus, I find myself compelled to make you a request."

"… A request?" He repeated.

The headmaster nodded in response.

"I would like for you to join a group. It is a group that was formed in order to defend the Maidens, as well as the world, from its hidden evils."

He stared at the man.

An offer to join a secret group in order to protect the world. The similarities brought back nostalgic memories of SEES and his time combating the Shadows.

But, Remnant was not his world. He had already played his part once before, even going far enough to offer up the ultimate sacrifice, to martyr himself for the world. He had no wish to play that role once more. And yet, he knew, that deep down, his consciousness would never forgive him were he to refuse.

However, along with SEES, the memories of Ikutsuki resurfaced as well. _That_ , gave way to hesitation. While Headmaster Ozpin had been honest with him from what he could tell, the whole cloak-and-dagger act, as well as the hidden motives, gave him pause. He had been burned once before in a similar fashion, and now found himself a lot more weary.

"I don't expect you to give me an answer immediately," The headmaster said, as if noticing his apprehensiveness, "I would actually prefer if you took some time to dwell on it, as it is not an easy decision to make."

The headmaster took a long sip from his cup.

"Of course, I think that this goes without saying, but you need to keep this discreet."

Slowly, he nodded.

* * *

The sound of the rain splattering against the windowsill was a familiar one for her.

Blake had always liked the rain. The melodic sounds that the dreary weather produced always served as good background noise for her reading. Reading had always been a relaxing activity for her, but with everything that had been happening with the White Fang lately, she found herself reading even less and less.

But now, now that everything had been dealt with?

It felt… Good to be able to simply lie in bed and read an interesting book. During these last few months, it was an activity that she hadn't realized how much she missed until now. Since Yang had fallen asleep a while ago, it was just her, her book, and the continuous pattering of the rain.

It was quite the cathartic experience.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed. She wasn't sure how many pages she had flipped through or how many paragraphs of text she had read. For however long that moment of solitude lasted, Blake was lost in her own little world, until the door to the room slowly creaked open.

Her ears twitched at the sound that had caught her attention. When she tore her eyes away from the novel in her hands, she was met with a familiar mess of blue. As was usual, Minato Arisato's hair was as unruly as ever.

Blake watched as the blue-haired boy quietly closed the door behind him. His eyes appeared to quickly survey the room before pinpointing the location of a nearby chair. In the very same subtle manner that he had entered the room with, Minato pulled out the chair and quietly took a seat by her bedside.

For a moment, nobody said a thing. Silence filled the air, and the only sounds that could be heard were the constant pattering of the rain against the building. Blake found herself at a loss for words, a feeling that she been far too familiar with as of late.

"How are you feeling?" He eventually asked.

"Fine," She softly replied, "… They should be letting me out in the morning."

"… That's good."

Silence reigned supreme once more. Blake watched as Minato's eyes shifted past her towards Yang's sleeping figure in the bed next to hers. It was subtle, but she could make out the slight pang of worry that flashed across his face.

"Yang's fine too," She reassured, "We're all okay."

He gave a small smile at that, but otherwise said nothing.

The conversation soon died out once again and a familiar silence hung in the air once more. Blake could feel herself begin to fidget a bit at the awkward silence, before she turned her attention back towards her book. Her eyes scanned through the text, attempting to find where she had last left off at.

"… Minato," She eventually began, her eyes never leaving the pages of her book, "About what happened… No, about everything… Thank you."

Blake paused, and let out a soft sigh.

"I'm guessing that you want to know the whole story," She continued, "About me and the White Fang?"

He simply shrugged.

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

Blake couldn't help but shake her head. That was such a Minato-esque answer. She wasn't the type of person that enjoyed divulging her past to people. Aside from the barest minimum of details, she hadn't even mentioned much of her past to her team. But, there was just something about him that made her feel at ease; that made her want to talk. Whether that was due to his quiet demeanor or something else entirely, she didn't know.

"The White Fang, it wouldn't be wrong to say that I was born into it," She quietly began, "They were different back then."

"… You mean before Adam Taurus took over?" He asked.

Slowly, Blake closed her book.

Adam. That was a name that reminded her of nothing but bittersweet memories. She had looked up to Adam at one point, admired him even. He was everything that she had wanted to become, and at one point, they had even shared the same dreams of the future.

"Adam… He wasn't always like this," Blake murmured, "In the past, he was a different person. He used to _lead_ the rallies and the protests."

She paused and began to reach over towards the counter by her bedside, grabbing at the spine of a very familiar book.

 _The Man with Two Souls_

"As time went by, and the rallies continued to fail, he began to change," She brushed over the cover of the book with her fingers, "The kind Adam that I remembered appeared less and less, until eventually, all that was left was anger and hatred."

She let out a deep breath.

"He… The White Fang… What they've become, it frightened me," Blake admitted, "And so, I ran away…"

 _And that's my story._

….

A pale hand touched her shoulder. It was warm and the grip was firm. Glancing up from her book, she could see a warm smile on his face. There were no comforting words like how others would've given her, only the very slightest form of physical contact. And strangely enough, she couldn't find herself wanting for anything more.

"Do you think…" She slowly began, "… _That_ Adam will ever return?"

The hand slowly left her shoulder.

"Nothing ever stays the same," He replied, in an almost melancholy manner, "People change, for better or for worse. In the end, all we can do is help them along their way and hope for the best."

He glanced out the window before giving her a slight smile.

"I should get going, before the rain gets even worse."

Slowly, she nodded in response.

"… Minato," She softly whispered, "… Thank you."

Never breaking stride, he lazily lifted a hand in the air as he stepped out of the infirmary room, slowly closing the door on the way out. And just like that, as quietly as he arrived, he was gone. The only audible noises left in the room came from the continuous pattering of the raindrops crashing against the building's exterior.

The sounds of rummaging sheets soon caught her attention.

"… Yang?" She asked, "Are you awake?"

Her partner in question all but crawled out from underneath her bedsheets.

"Morning sunshine~," Yang yawned.

Blake let a small smile flash across her face.

"It's a little late for that Yang."

Her partner stretched out her limbs.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Yang agreed, "… Hey, Blake?"

"Yeah?"

"We'll always be there for you," Yang replied, a serious look on her face, "No matter what happens."

Blake blinked.

"Yeah," She nodded, a small smile beginning to form on her face, "Yeah, I know Yang."

Yang returned the smile.

"Good, because that's what partners are for."

"Hey Yang…" Blake slowly began, "Were you awake this whole time?"

The blonder gave her a sly smile.

"Hey now, I couldn't just go and interrupt your little moment with Blue, now could I?"

Blake felt her cheeks flush a bit.

"Yang! It's not like that and you know it!"

The blonde only snickered in response. After rolling her eyes, Blake couldn't help but chuckle a little bit as well. Yang was a good friend, and she was glad to have her as a partner. She was glad to have met all of them, everybody on Team RWBY. And while she knew deep down that nothing lasted forever, she still couldn't help but cling to the small hope that Team RWBY wouldn't ever change.

* * *

By the time he had made it back to his apartment, his clothes were so soaked to the brim that he dearly regretted not bringing an umbrella. Checking the daily weather report was not something that he did, and now he clearly paid the price for not embracing such a habit.

Cold shivering hands fumbled with the door key before finally correctly fitting in the key into the keyhole. With a quick twist on the doorknob, the door slid open as he eagerly stepped inside the warm confines of his apartment. Indoor heating was expensive, and he was quite annoyed when his _guests_ insisted on leaving the heater on, but he couldn't help but be thankful for their pestering just this once.

Slipping out of his soaked blazer, he quickly tossed it into the laundry basket as he began to make his way towards his kitchen. It was around dinnertime and he had yet to eat, so he was feeling quite famished at the moment. As he stepped into his kitchen, he was greeted to the sight of Neopolitan happily devouring a bowl of what appeared to be Vanilla flavored ice cream.

He thought about asking her where she had acquired the aforementioned desert, but thought better of it. The girl in question seemed briefly surprised at his appearance before giving him an amused wave. He returned her greeting with a slight nod of his head before he made his way towards his refrigerator.

Opening his fridge door, he began to grab a couple of ingredients that he would need to make a quick meal. He wasn't a good cook by any means, and he very rarely actually did cook, but he had picked up a few things here and there from Shinjiro before his untimely passing. As he placed a random assortment of eggs and vegetables onto his kitchen counter, he grabbed his apron and reached over for his freezer door handle.

When he pulled open the door, he couldn't help but blink.

He wasn't expecting to see his freezer filled to the brim with perhaps the largest assortment of different flavored tubs of ice cream he had ever seen. _That_ explained where the ice cream had come from. It took a _great_ deal of effort to resist the urge to roll his eyes as he began to move the tubs of frozen sweets out of the way in an effort to reach the ingredients that he needed, which were now evidently stuck at the back of his freezer.

Once he deemed that he had the necessary ingredients, it was finally time to get cooking.

He wasn't making anything too extravagant, just a simple meal to satisfy his hunger. An omelet with a few various pieces of different meats and vegetables mixed in. It was a simple recipe that Shinjiro had shown him, and he was finished in a matter of minutes.

Pulling out a chair, he took a seat at the opposite end of the table.

" _You're late,"_ Neopolitan gestured, a curious expression on her face.

He simply shrugged in response.

While he might have two new guests living in his apartment, not much had really changed in regards to his daily routine. Roman and Neopolitan had mostly left him to his own devices and he had done the same. After the _incident_ from the first night, he had quickly laid down some ground rules, which the two seemed to actually follow, much to his relief.

Well, the rules were mostly geared towards Neopolitan rather than Roman, since the man was almost never here. He had probably only seen him twice since the first night and when he had questioned the man on it, the only reply he received was that he was "taking care of some loose ends". That in itself was a bit of a double-edged sword for him, because while it meant Roman wasn't here to annoy him, it almost meant that Roman wasn't here.

And because Roman wasn't here, that left him alone with Neopolitan. It wasn't as if they didn't get along, because they actually did, due to their rather similar quiet demeanors, and Neopolitan _was_ far less annoying to deal with than the thief in question. But, she also had a rather mischievous personality, and without Roman here, that left him as the sole target of whatever shenanigans she had planned for the day.

He couldn't help but shake the feeling that Roman didn't approach him due to the lack of a place to stay, but rather the fact that the thief assumed he would make a good babysitter and keep the whimsical girl out of trouble. Now, he wasn't sure just exactly what kind of relationship the duo had with one or another, but from he'd seen; he wouldn't be surprised if it were more than that of simple business partners.

Biting down on the last piece of his omelet, he placed his fork atop his now empty plate.

Neopolitan had finished her meal a good bit earlier than he had and had been staring at him with a rather amused expression on her face the entire time. He ignored it as he focused on finishing his meal at the time, but now that he was done eating, he found it a lot harder to brush off.

"… Is there something wrong?"

The amused look remained on her face.

" _Nice apron. I didn't think pink was your color."_

He simply shrugged once more.

Pink definitely wasn't his color, but he hadn't chosen this apron out of a need for fashion. Rather, it was for more sentimental reasons if anything. A sign of respect to a dear friend that he had considered to be an older brother.

Shinjiro had always worn a similarly colored apron after all.

Standing up, he carried his now empty plate towards his kitchen sink. After a couple of brief minutes scrubbing, he set the dish into his dish washer. Feeling satisfied now that he had satiated his hunger, he supposed that he might as well take a shower. As he began to make his way towards his bathroom, he felt a slight tug from the back of his blazer.

Tilting his head, he could see Neopolitan looking up towards him.

" _Roman left you a message."_

* * *

Mercury stood on the edge of the rooftop, watching as the rain continued to pour down.

He'd always hated the rain, ever since he was a little kid. Dear old dad's drunken rampages were always worse during the dreary weather. And without mom around, that only left one target for dad's violent tendencies. The rain always did manage to sour his mood; it reminded him of a time that he would rather not remember.

A time when he had been _weak_.

Just the simple thought of it irked him to no end. Were it not for Cinder's orders, he'd be inside, in the nice warm confines of their room, instead of freezing out here in the pouring rain. Normally, he would have protested, but Cinder had been in a bad mood as of late, and Mercury wasn't an idiot, there were just certain people in the world that you just couldn't piss off.

His current boss was one of them.

He didn't blame her for her current mood, their scheme had been foolproof; it had been so intricately planned out that nothing short of a complete abnormality could've interfered with their plan. Unluckily for them, the appearance of one Minato Arisato proved to be just that abnormality.

Mercury didn't think much of the boy at first. Sure, he had been beaten, but he hadn't been taking that fight seriously from the start. And while the guy had an interesting Semblance, it didn't take a genius to figure out that as long as if you kept him away from that pistol, killing him wouldn't be too much of an issue.

Then he heard about what happened at Mt. Glenn.

He had never seen Adam Taurus fight personally, but judging from his reputation, the White Fang leader wasn't a joke. If Minato Arisato managed to defeat him, he probably had even more tricks up his sleeve other than that freaky summon. Were it not for the fact that he had already long grown used to the ominous, he _might've_ been creeped out by that summon.

But when your boss answered directly to the mother of all Grimm, you very quickly get used to dealing with things of a sinister nature.

Dear old dad wasn't that far off the mark either.

The slight vibration in his pants pocket signaled that it was time for work. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the scroll and brought it towards his ear. The voice that came through the small device was one that he had grown quite familiar with.

"Mercury, you've got fifteen minutes max," Emerald's voice buzzed through the speakers, "Don't screw up."

He scoffed.

"Who me? Yeah right."

He wasn't stupid enough to fail Cinder twice. Those that did usually never even got the chance for a third try. He could see why Roman and his little midget of a partner had gotten cold feet and jumped ship. He didn't blame them for their choice; the thought of leaving had crossed his mind a couple times.

Mercury wasn't like Emerald, he didn't have the same blinding loyalty to Cinder that his green-haired partner had. He wasn't like how Roman had been either, who stuck around more out of fear than anything. No, he remained for the simple reason that Cinder gave him a purpose. His identity was that of an assassin and nothing else, all he knew how to do was kill.

It just so happened that Cinder had need for his talents, nothing more, nothing less.

Dear old dad had trained him well in that regard, perhaps too well. He wasn't like his dad, who suffered from a guilty conscience, needing alcohol to drown it out. Killing had come easily for him; it was no more difficult than breathing. Even when he had finally snapped the life out of his father's neck, it had felt no more different than any of his other kills.

It was _routine_.

Leaping off from his perch on the rooftop, Mercury tuned out the unnecessary thoughts from his head. It was time for work, and any thoughts other than how to better assassinate his target were unneeded. This was Mercury Black, and when it came time for work, he was nothing more than a weapon.

And a weapon's purpose was simple.

 _It was to kill._

* * *

Author's Notes- Been busy with school and the fun times of writing papers. Finally got this chapter finished though, sorry for the wait. For what's it worth, it's one of the longest ones I've ever written. Speaking of that, this story is now the longest thing I've ever written. Woo milestones. Hopefully, I can hit a 100k words one day eh?

Anyway, as usual thanks for all the support. Hope you guy's enjoy the chapter, I'm going to go get some much needed sleep now, until next time~

-SFX


	12. Chapter 12: Of Thieves and Killers

**Chapter 12-**

 **Of Thieves and Killers**

* * *

When he had finally finished climbing up the long trek of stairs to the rooftop, he was greeted with the familiar sight of Roman Torchwick leaning against some worn down railings. For a moment, he simply stared, because where had once been a signature bowler hat that rested atop that man's head was now a simple dark hood from a similarly colored hoodie.

"A disguise…?" He eventually asked, a curious expression on his face.

The orange-haired thief let out a puff of smoke from the lit cigar in one of his hands as he appeared to be browsing through his scroll on the other. After a brief moment, Roman put away the scroll and greeted him with an easy-going smirk.

"It's a bit of a pain for me to go outside these days," The thief replied with a shrug, "You know, with half the town wanting to kill me and the other half wanting to throw me in a call."

He raised an eyebrow in response.

"Having second thoughts Roman?"

The thief simply laughed.

"Are you kidding me? Come on now kid, I'm one of the most wanted men on the planet. Stuff like this doesn't even faze me anymore."

He supposed the older man had a point about that.

"Anyway, it sure took you long enough to get here kid."

For one reason or another, he suddenly felt a pang of annoyance, but suppressed the feeling. It was a common feeling to have, he had come to learn, when it came to socializing with someone like Roman Torchwick. He supposed that some people were just naturally annoying in their nature.

"I had work," He eventually responded in a dry tone, "And it takes a while to commute across the city."

"That's why you need a car kid."

He couldn't afford something like a car, not with his paycheck. It wasn't as if he needed one anyway, as he rarely found himself needing to commute across the city.

"I can't afford a car," He simply replied.

Roman smirked.

"You know, I could help you with that."

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at that comment. It was quite obvious that whatever _help_ Roman Torchwick was going to offer him was going to be something that fell along the lines of illegal activities. He wouldn't be surprised if the thief had shown up at his doorstep the next day with a brand new luxury vehicle, and knowing Roman, it was one that was going to be acquired through one unsavory mean or another.

Something of which he had no interest in. So, he simply changed the subject.

"Why are we here Roman?"

To his credit, the thief knew when to stop fooling around and get serious. He supposed that when it came to _business_ , as the thief liked to say, playful antics were more or less left behind at the door. A thin stream of smoke left Roman's mouth as the man's previous flippant attitude seemed to scatter away like his tobacco smoke in the air.

"Well, we sure did a number on the big bad, didn't we kid?" Roman asked, as another puff of smoke left his lips, "I mean like stopping the train and taking down Adam Taurus along his mutts. It was a pretty big deal you know."

He simply shrugged, unsure of what the older man was trying to make.

"What are you trying to imply Roman?"

The thief didn't respond immediately, and instead took another puff from his cigar. When it became apparent to him what the thief in question was trying to do, he inwardly suppressed a sigh.

He should have expected this honestly, Roman did have an annoying habit of dragging things on with his flair for the dramatic and all. He didn't plan on humoring the man, so he simply remained quiet, waiting for the inevitable reveal that would supposedly shock or frighten him in one way or another.

The thief gave him a pointed look in response.

"You're no fun kid."

He let out a sigh.

"Just get to the point Roman."

Really now, who was supposed to be the adult here again?

The thief took another huff from his cigar before he tossed it away completely, dumping it over the railing. Gesturing with his hand, the thief motioned him over towards the railing. Seeing no real reason to refuse, he obliged and walked over, eventually resting his arms on the railing as he overlooked the city of Vale from atop of the building they were on.

"Y'see, the thing is, the final boss doesn't go down that easily kid," Roman eventually began.

"Video game analogies now Roman?" He asked, bemused, "Can you just get to the point?"

The thief gave him another look, which he ignored.

"Tch, alright look," Roman replied, an annoyed look on his face, "Cinder's not finished yet. And from what I've been hearing, something big is going down right now."

"Details Roman," He interjected.

"Hey! I was getting there alright? You can't rush this kid, there's a certain grace that needs to be employed when it comes to sabotaging your former employer," Roman pointedly explained, "Anyway, there's been a lot of movement into the city lately. And I'm talking about a bunch of real _shady_ individuals that have absolutely no _legitimate_ business in a major city like Vale."

People coming into the city around this time weren't anything surprising. The Vytal festival was coming up soon and there were bound to be outsiders and such. Although, what Roman had just mentioned did kind of give him some reason for concern.

"And you know these people?" He asked, "Are you sure they're not just here for the Vytal festival?"

The thief snorted.

"Yeah kid, I'm sure a bunch of hired guns and cutthroats came to watch a bunch of snot-nosed brats beat the stuffing out of each other," Roman sarcastically quipped, "No kid, I'm pretty sure they aren't here for the Vytal festival."

Ignoring the sarcasm, he gave the man a questioning look.

"… And you know this _how_ Roman?"

The thief replied in kind by returning with an incredulous expression on his face.

"Are you serious kid? Uh… Hello, I'm Roman Torchwick?" The thief held out his hands for emphasis, "You know, one of the most wanted men in Vale? Come on now, you've got to give me _some_ credit here. You don't just _become_ an infamous kingpin you know. Just because _you're_ a freak of nature doesn't mean everybody else is a bum with no skills."

He narrowed his eyes at the backhanded compliment.

"Err… No offense," Roman quickly added after, "I meant that as a compliment!"

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at that.

He supposed that the thief did have a point about one thing though. Roman Torchwick _was_ one of the most wanted criminals in the city, so he shouldn't have been surprised that the thief was still able to gather information from the underworld, in spite of Cinder now being the new queen of the kingdom. Roman still probably had some connections here and there that he had taken advantage of.

"So you believe that these mercenaries are working for Cinder?" He eventually questioned, "That they came into the city under her orders?"

Roman shook his head.

"I don't believe kid, I _know_. There isn't anyone else left alive in the city's underworld with the kind of financial leverage that could afford hiring from the likes of the Mistral Brotherhood. The timing is just too perfect, you take down all of her muscle from the White Fang and not too long later, a bunch of these guys come flooding into the city?"

The thief scowled as if recalling a bad memory.

"Yeah, that psychotic bitch definitely has the means _and_ the reasons to bring them over alright."

He frowned at that.

If what Roman said was true, then it would seem that the uneasy feeling he had been having for a while now would prove to be a foreshadowing of sorts. The implications of Roman's words gave rise to a series of troubling thoughts involving the destruction of the city in one way or another. They were thoughts that he hoped would stay just that, as mere thoughts.

"No matter how confident you are Roman, this seems to be all still speculation," He eventually replied, "Do you have any concrete evidence to back up your claims?"

"Nope," The thief cheerily replied, "And that's why we're here."

He raised an eyebrow in response.

"… And just what do you mean by that?"

"Well…" Roman gave a cheeky grin, "Let's just say that we're going to be paying one of Cinder's new friends a little visit."

And with that, the thief gave him the universal gesture for "follow me" and leaped over the railing towards the next rooftop. For a moment, he simply stood there and stared blankly at the spot that the thief had been mere moments before. Eventually, he let out a small sigh before he followed after the older man.

* * *

When they finally stopped, it was on the rooftop of a rather weary looking building that seemed to be an apartment complex of some sort. The paint on the walls had begun to scrape off and the actual walls themselves had definitely seen better days. With his usual confident smirk, Roman gestured for him to follow as the thief made his way down the fire emergency staircase attached to the side of the building.

He still had questions, but it appeared that they would have to wait.

With a small sigh, he trotted after the older man. They continued down the staircase for a couple of floors until the thief in front of him suddenly came to an abrupt stop and held a hand up.

"Kid, you still have that pistol you carry around on you?" Roman suddenly asked.

It took him a brief moment to realize that Roman was referring to his evoker.

"Yes…" He answered, giving the older man a questioning look, "… Why?"

Roman simply smirked.

"Good, keep that thing out and try to look threatening, alright?"

He furrowed his brow while Roman pulled out a familiar looking cane.

"Alright kid, here's how it's going to go down. So our new little friend from the Mistral Brotherhood is staying in the room on the floor directly below us. We're going to pay him a little visit and ask a few questions, so just let me do all the talking," The thief nonchalantly began as he started to load dust cartridges into his cane, "Oh, and do try to restrain yourself from interfering if things get a little bit… _Violent_ , alright? If you have any questions, make them quick."

It didn't take a genius to figure out what Roman was planning on doing. Interrogations were not things that he enjoyed participating in, whether as the interrogator or the person getting interrogated. They always involved far too much talking and animosity for his tastes. Despite his dislike for the act, he was hesitant to leave things completely up to Roman. Torture was not something that would condone, no matter how valuable the possible information was.

He _was_ curious however, as to why Roman had wanted him to be here, if the thief knew he would disapprove of his plans.

"If you do not want me to interfere, then why did you call me here?"

Roman continued to fiddle with another dust cartridge.

"Why?" The thief repeated, "Because, you're here as insurance, in case shit goes downhill. Normally I'd have Neo for this, but she's currently preoccupied with another job. And seeing as how this is something that would benefit you as well as me, it seemed like a good a time as any to put our little partnership to use."

Before he had a chance to say anything else, Roman had already jumped down a flight of stairs and smashed open one of the windows on the wall with his cane. Frowning, he took out his evoker and quickly followed suit, jumping into the newly made entrance after the older man.

He was greeted with the sight of two rugged looking men who appeared to have been in the middle of a card game. Various stacks of Lien were scattered across the table, indicating that some rather large bets were being made.

"What the fu—"

"Why hello to you too gentlemen!" Roman interrupted, still holding his weapon in the air, "Y'see this here's a hold up. _Now_ , I'd suggest that you all not move and adhere to my demands."

A brief moment of tense silence seemed to engulf the shoddy room.

"Do you know who the fuck we are?" A man with a scar across his face soon growled out, "Do you know just _who_ the fuck you're trying to mess with here?"

"Why yes, I do!" Roman mockingly answered, "You're all a bunch of two-bit thugs working with the Mistral Brotherhood!"

"You motherfucker, we'll kill you!"

Roman pointed his cane towards the blonde haired man that had just spoken.

"Sure, you and the rest of the city," Roman dryly replied, "But the thing is, too bad for you, I'm the one holding the high card in this here game," Roman gestured with his weapon, "So, it's my turn to ask the questions. Who hired you?"

The scar-faced man scoffed.

"And what makes you think we'll answer? You're just some pretty boy and a punk kid. We ain't telling you shit."

 _Bang._

His eyes grew wide in surprise at the shot.

"Agh!" The scar-faced man howled, "F-fuck, he shot me!"

"And that's just your knee," Roman sneered, "Now if you want to keep your other knee intact, I'd _suggest_ you start talking."

He frowned and narrowed his eyes at the thief, but otherwise remained quiet. The damage had already been done, so there was little point in sharing his disapproval and breaking the image of fear that Roman had now instilled into the two thugs. He would of course step in and put a stop to it should things escalate any further.

Shooting unarmed men, even if they were hardened criminals simply left a bad taste in his mouth.

The scar-faced man that was now in a fetal position clutching at his ruined knee continued to let out another stream of curses. His companion, a blonde-haired man with a tattoo on his neck, had a fearful look in his eyes. He may have disapproved of Roman's methods, but they definitely seemed to work, as the two men now appeared to be a lot more willing to talk than before.

"Well?" Roman asked impatiently, "As entertaining as it is to watch you grovel on the floor, I don't have all day."

For good measure, the thief walked up and held his cane over the man's other leg.

"A-alright! I'll talk, I'll talk, just don't fucking shoot!" The scar-faced man choked out, "The guy that hired us, he didn't tell us his name! If you know that much about us, you should know how it is; his money was good so we didn't ask either."

"Hmm," Roman hummed, "Fine. Alright blondie, your turn now," The thief lifted his cane up and pointed it towards the other man, "Tell me something useful or I won't just shoot _your_ kneecap off, I'll _smash_ it into little tiny pieces myself. What was the job you were hired to do?"

For a moment, it appeared that the mercenary in question was going to hold his silence. Although, once Roman began to lightly pull down the trigger of his weapon, the mercenary seemed to come to the realization that his own well-being was worth much more than his client's confidentiality.

"H-hey man, take it easy, I'll talk," The blonde-haired mercenary said as he held up his hands in the air, "We were only told to make our way into Vale. Once we arrived, we were to receive instructions from someone named Cinder. That's all I know, swear!"

Roman simply let out a small hum, before he looked over his way with a smug expression on his face.

"Well," The thief began, "I guess that answers that question kid."

He supposed that it did, in more ways than one.

That only meant that things were only going to get even more dangerous in the future. It seemed that Cinder's plans were still going on strong, and the battle at Mountain Glen only served as a small detour in the grand scheme of things. In retrospect, he should've expected that, after all from his own experiences, grand evil plans like Cinder's or Ikutsuki's were never that easily foiled.

"H-hey," The blonde-haired mercenary hesitantly stuttered, "We told you everything already, so we're free to go right?"

Roman merely smirked.

"What? Oh yeah, you guys are free to go," The thief cheerily replied, "Free to go straight to hell that is."

The blonde-haired man's eyes went wide.

And then Roman pulled the trigger.

Only this time, he was ready for it.

 _Tetrakarn._

The dust filled round whirled through the air before it smashed into the newly formed barrier, stopping its path. The blonde-haired man, whose eyes had grown as large as saucers during the entire exchange, let out a breath of relief when it became apparent that he wasn't in danger for the time being. Roman slowly set his cane down before turning his head towards him with a glare.

"Didn't we agree that you weren't going to interfere kid?" The thief asked, visibly annoyed.

He simply shrugged.

"I never agreed to anything."

And that was the truth; he never had a chance to voice much of anything really.

"Alright then kid, say we let them go. And then what?" Roman challenged, "They go running back to Cinder and let her know that we're on her trail? I don't know about you, but I think that she has more than enough reasons to burn me to a crisp already, I don't need to add anymore to that list."

As usual, Roman's logic was infallible. Killing them would prevent a lot of unnecessary problems; after all there was that old saying. _Dead men tell no tales._ But even so, the very act itself went against his morals. It wasn't who he was, nor was it what SEES was. SEES had never once resorted to killing, not when it came to Takaya or even Ikutsuki.

He did not plan on breaking that trend either.

"We're not killing them Roman."

The thief looked as if he wanted to argue, but the sounds of nearby police sirens caught his attention. Someone else in the building had probably heard the discharge from Roman's gun and called the police.

"Tch, fine whatever," Roma eventually bit out, "You want to play the hero? Go ahead, but I'll say this, in the real world, heroes don't get happy endings kid."

He didn't need Roman to tell him that. After all, he knew that better than anyone. That disgusting feeling of emptiness from being the seal still gave him nightmares to this day. And it was still a sacrifice that he would willingly make time and time again if need be. It wasn't even about being a hero; it was simply about protecting what was important to him, whether it be his friends, SEES, or even his own convictions.

More police sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Let's get out of here before the cops arrive," Roman said, before turning his attention back towards the two mercenaries, "As for you two, you didn't see anything, alright?" Roman leaned closer and whispered into the blonde-haired man's ear, "Otherwise, I'll be paying you another visit, and next time, the kid won't be here to save your skin."

The man's face paled, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Alright then gentlemen, I'm glad that we came to an understanding," Roma sneered, "For your sakes, I hope that we don't meet again."

And with that, Roman kicked open the door and stormed out.

* * *

They had snuck out through one of the building's emergency exits and had thus managed to avoid running into any police officers. Roman apparently knew the ins-and-outs of the city quite well, because they had ducked into so many different back alleys on the way back towards their part of town that he had long given up on trying to figure out where they were. It also took a good deal longer than he preferred, but they eventually did make it back to an area that he was familiar with.

He leaned against one of the many shipping containers at the docks as he waited for Roman.

The thief had wanted to take a small detour before heading back to his apartment. Apparently, the man had wanted to pick up a box of cigars from a nearby store. Seeing as how they were already in the area, he didn't really have any objections.

"Yo kid," Roman greeted as he walked over, "Can you believe how much they charge for a box of cigars these days?"

He raised an eyebrow at that.

"I find it harder to believe that you actually paid for something."

Roman laughed in response.

"Well, I do have to keep a bit of a low profile for a while kid. I would never _steal_ my cigars anyway, that just leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

The thief reached into his pocket and took out a lighter. Grabbing one of his new cigars, Roman proceeded to light it and took a long drag. Tobacco smoke soon filled the air in his nearby vicinity and he couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at the smell.

"Did you have to smoke in this particular area?" He dryly asked, "Specifically next to me?"

Roman took another hit from his cigar.

"No, not really."

But of course, because it's Roman, he does it anyway. He resisted the urge to have Thanatos strangle the man next to him as he let out a sigh. They stood in silence for a while, as the sounds of the nearby waves drowned out most of the noise at the docks.

Something had been bothering him since their little visit to Cinder's new henchmen.

Specifically about how nonchalantly Roman was willing to kill someone.

"Roman…" He eventually began, breaking the silence, "Back at Mountain Glen, the White Fang on the train. Did you kill them?"

The thief in question simply gave him an incredulous look.

"Oh no, not this shit again kid."

"Roman, did you kill them?" He asked again, much more firmly this time.

Roman took another drag from his cigar.

"Not personally," The thief eventually answered, "I did kill one though. Bullet straight to the neck. Wasn't one of my smartest ideas though, since I ended up getting blood all over one of my favorite suits."

He frowned at the vivid imagery that the thief had chose to use.

"Not personally…?" He slowly repeated, before realization dawned on him, "Neopolitan…?"

"Yup, you got it kid," Roman casually remarked, "Y'see unlike me, she actually rather enjoys killing people. Thinks of it as a hobby really, it actually creeps me out a bit sometimes. She can be a bit too… Sadistic at times. Although, I suppose that's what makes her such a good accomplice. In this business, you always need someone to take care of the dirty work after all."

He had always thought that Neopolitan had been a bit… Unhinged. An innocent smile that had always seemed to be hiding something deeper underneath. The occasional slip-up, where the angelic façade had cracked and out came a grin that was far too-wide, far too-eccentric, emitting an almost bloodthirsty aura even.

He had always seen flashes of it, but had simply brushed it off behind one excuse or another.

A trick of the light, or perhaps his mind had been seeing things due to his tiredness. He never did pay any second thoughts to Neopolitan's occasional unnerving lapses. Or perhaps he had always known in the back of his mind, and simply chose to ignore it instead. Perhaps he was afraid of his worries being true, because it seemed that in one way or another, he had come to value the odd relationship that they had with each other.

Perhaps he was afraid of breaking that relationship and the repercussions that came with it.

Ryoji had always said that he had been far too kind for his own good. How he would in the past, distance himself from others to avoid the possibility of pain that came from forming relationships with people. After all, relationships never did last forever, and when they did finally end, all that was left was pain. What had happened with Shinjiro was simply a testimony to his beliefs.

He couldn't help but shake his head at the thought.

When had he grown so sentimental?

He was no longer that same person from before. The bonds that he still shared with SEES even to this day made sure of that. Relationships may come and go, but the bonds that were formed, the experience and the memories, those were forever. Even now, with his relationship with SEES shattered, their bond was never broken. He still had his memories and experiences with SEES, and it was those very experiences that shaped him into the person that he was today.

He turned his attention towards Roman, who had been staring at him with an unreadable expression.

"Roman…" He slowly began, "If this partnership is going to continue, there will be no more killing, alright?"

The thief simply let out an exasperated sigh.

"I thought that you were going to say something unreasonable like that."

Was he being unreasonable? He didn't think so.

"There are other ways besides killing Roman."

Roman simply rolled his eyes.

"Sure there are," The thief agreed, "Yeah, like for example, I could just be an upstanding citizen and start a legitimate business rather than be a thief!"

He frowned, but kept his silence, prompting the thief to go on.

"Ah, but you see, the thing is with that, I'd be working five times harder and making ten times less than what I do now!" Roman continued on, "Which brings me to my point kid, why take the harder road? Because it's the _right_ thing to do? Don't give me that bullshit," Roman sneered, "We would've saved ourselves a whole lot of headaches in the future if you simply let me put those two idiots down."

Having finally finished his little rant, Roman leaned back against a nearby shipping container and slid down until he was sitting with his back against the wall. The thief took another drag from his cigar and blew out a thick plume of smoke.

"So tell me kid," Roman began once more, "Tell me why you want to make things harder for everyone. And _please_ don't give me any more of that morality crap."

He stared Roman right in the eyes.

"That's exactly why."

To Roman, it might've just been _bullshit_ , but those were his beliefs. They were his convictions, they were _SEES's_ convictions. He didn't think he'd ever be able to face them again were he to go against those beliefs.

The thief took another deep drag form his cigar.

"You know, for someone with so much power, you sure are naïve kid."

He simply shrugged.

"Perhaps I am. But, those are my beliefs and I don't intend to go against them."

Roman let out a dark chuckle.

"Heh, just like little Red aren't you kid?"

He blinked at that.

"Little Red?"

"An annoying little brat that's apparently a lot more similar to you than I originally thought," The thief cryptically replied, "I'm going to let you in on a little secret, think of it as a life lesson if you want. Now, if you think about it kid, what do we all really value in life?"

That… Was a question he was not expecting.

"Love and friendship? Honesty? Integrity? Don't make me laugh," Roman scoffed, "What a bunch of sentimental bullshit. The only thing that matters in this world is power and…" The thief reached into his pocket and took out his wallet, "Money."

Roman tossed the wallet onto the floor as a stack of Lien flew out of it.

"Back when I was just a little starving brat, crawling around in some godforsaken shit-hole of a village somewhere way out beyond the walls, where was my love and integrity then?" Roman took another drag from his cigar and let out a dark chuckle, "Forget about love, people wouldn't even spare a second glance at me. What they saw wasn't even a fellow human being, but just another little street rat."

Roman snuffed out his cigar with his boots.

"Oh, but things sure change quickly when you have money and power," The thief smirked, "The world becomes one hell of a better place when you have those two things. It doesn't matter even if you have to dirty your hands to obtain them. As long as you have money and power kid, even a little street rat can become a king."

He did not agree with that way of thinking, not at all.

"Are money and power all you care about Roman?"

The thief picked up his wallet from the floor.

"They're the only thing that matter kid. The point of the story is, when you're living life on the edge, you don't give a damn about things like what's right or wrong. Money and power are all that matter to you because that's _all_ that you've really got."

He watched as the thief picked up the rest of the Lien on the floor.

"Then what about Neopolitan?"

Roman gave him a guarded expression.

"What about her?"

"You don't care for her at all Roman?" He carefully asked, "You don't value your relationship with her?"

The thief simply shook his head chuckled.

"Heh, weren't you listening? Our _relationship_ is the same one that I have with you kid. I have uses for her, and she has uses for me. And when we no longer have uses for one another, then we'll go our separate ways. There's no _love_ or _friendship_ involved if that's what you're thinking."

He didn't believe that, not from what he'd seen of the two.

"That's a lie Roman."

"Believe what you want kid," Roman stood up and dusted himself off, "But I'm done with this conversation. You don't want any more killing? You want to take the hardest road? Fine, like I said, power and money are all that matter to me and you're the one with all the power here, so you call the shots."

Roman began to walk away before stopping and cast one last glance his way.

"Just don't regret it when that decision comes back to bite you in the ass."

* * *

Roman didn't stay around for long, and pretty soon he found himself sitting alone in his living room. Neopolitan was still off doing whatever job that she had been given, so for the first time in a long while, he found himself with some time alone.

He thought about Roman's words.

And he could see where the thief was coming from. He could understand that because of his upbringing… If one could even call it that, had shaped the man's ideals into what they were today. Those that only knew fear, treachery, and hatred in their lifetime would only be able to live that same way after all.

He could understand where Roman was coming from, but he did not agree with it.

The familiar sound of shattering glass drew his attention away from his thoughts. Neopolitan sauntered into the room, her parasol resting atop her shoulder as she took a seat next to him on his couch, an amused grin resting on her face as usual.

"You could use the door you know."

The girl simply shrugged in response.

" _How was your little meeting?"_

He thought about how he would describe what had transpired in as few words as possible.

"… Eventful," He eventually settled on.

Neopolitan gave him a knowing grin.

" _Did you have fun?"_

He let out a sigh.

"And just what is your definition of fun?"

And there it was. It was only there for a second, but he definitely noticed it this time around. An almost manic shine in her eyes, and an all-too-wide smile that seemed to exude a kind of exuberance that was... Unsettling to say the least.

" _Oh you know; this and that."_

"... Like fighting and killing?"

Neopolitan simply grinned at that.

He averted his eyes and turned away from her. He couldn't help but wonder just what kind of messed up childhood someone had to have to become like that.

Eventually, Neopolitan simply stood up and walked over, until she stood directly in front of him. She gave a slight tilt of her head, and looked at him with a confused expression on her face.

" _Do you not approve?"_

He felt as if she had asked him that very same question once before.

"I don't approve of killing."

She frowned at that.

" _But Roman needs me to kill."_

"Not anymore."

She blinked.

"We talked about it earlier," He clarified, "He won't need you to kill anymore."

For a moment, she simply stared at him.

He stared back.

" _Okay."_

This time, it was his turn to blink.

"Okay…?"

She nodded in response.

"So you won't kill anymore?" He questioned, "Just like that?"

She nodded again.

He blinked once more in response.

He was expecting her to protest if anything. With the way Roman had described her… Murderous tendencies, he would have half expected her to have thrown a fit actually.

"Why?" He found himself asking out of curiosity, "I thought that you liked killing."

Neopolitan simply shrugged.

" _I do. But I like you and Roman more. And if Roman doesn't need me to kill anymore, then I won't."_

That… He supposed that made sense, in one way or another. But that logic was just… It was almost childlike in nature.

He wasn't sure just what to think about it.

Neopolitan simply gave him an amused grin.

* * *

 _Ella_ allowed a small smile to grace her face.

Her fellow classmates smiled back. Greetings were exchanged and small talk was made. Oh, they talked about all sorts of mundane things, like the newest album from the hottest band or about what boys in their year looked the cutest. She participated of course, because _Ella_ , like most girls her age loved to gossip.

After all, _Ella_ was simply another young huntress-in-training.

"Oh yeah, Ella is your teammate alright? I heard that she had to go back to Mistral because of an emergency!"

"Ah yes, she had a… Family emergency to attend to, but she's fine, don't worry about it," _Ella_ reassured, "As her teammate, I'm confident that she can handle herself."

"Oh, but doesn't that mean you won't be able to participate in the tournament?"

 _Ella_ gave a sad smile.

"Unfortunately, yes that is the case. But, I'm sure the other representatives from Haven Academy will put on a good show."

They continued to talk, until the Professor in the room gathered everyone's attention, signaling the beginning of the class. And naturally, like the good student that she was, _Ella_ began to jot down notes from the lesson. After all, one of _Ella's_ teammates never did take his studies seriously, so she had to make sure that not only did she have notes for herself to use, but for her teammate as well.

The sound of a ringing bell signaled that the class had soon come to an end.

Scribbling down the last of her notes, she allowed herself a small smile in satisfaction as she began to put away her pen and other materials.

"Hey Ella, do you want to grab something to eat with us?"

 _Ella_ simply shook her head at that.

"I'm sorry; I already made plans with my team," She replied, "Perhaps next time, Hailey."

Hailey seemed to deflate a little at her answer.

"Oh, alright then, maybe next time!"

 _Ella_ smiled and nodded in response. Hailey and her friends all waved her goodbye as they quickly scurried away towards the cafeteria. _Ella_ , being the good friend that she was, returned the gesture and watched as they walked away, chatting with one another all the while.

Packing up the rest of her class materials, she bid her professor goodbye before she began to make her way back towards her dorm. Beacon Academy was a rather large school, much bigger than Haven Academy was. So going from the classrooms back towards the dormitories took a good deal longer than she was used to.

Once she finally made her way back to her dorm, she was greeted with the sight of her two other teammates.

 _And then the mask came off._

Cinder sauntered her way over towards her bed. Dropping off her bag of school supplies at her bedside, she took a seat.

"So tell me Mercury," She purred, "How did it go?"

The silver-haired boy simply shrugged and turned on the small little television in their room.

"See for yourself."

The Vale News Network soon appeared on the screen.

" _This is Lisa Lavender with VNN, here to report a recent murder of two members of the Mistral council that were here to attend the Vytal Festival…"_

Cinder simply smiled.

"Well now, Mercury, Emerald. It seems that you two _can_ still be competent when need be."

Emerald averted her eyes, while Mercury simply grunted in response.

"… _And thus the council has deemed it fit to make General Ironwood the head of security for the remainder of the Vytal festival…"_

It took a great deal of effort to suppress the grin that was threatening to split her face in two.

And with that, another pawn on the chessboard had fallen. Sure, there had been some surprises here and there. But, it was nothing that she couldn't handle. After all, she had spent _years_ planning the fall of Beacon; she had made every possible arrangement, planned for every single contingency that might have occurred.

Wild card or not, _nothing_ would stand in her path.

Beacon was already destined to fall. The writing was already on the walls. The rest of the _plebeians_ simply didn't know it yet.

* * *

 **Author's Notes-** If anyone finds any errors, please do point them out so that I can correct them. It's been a while since I've written anything, so I'm quite rusty. Life's been a bit rough lately, so it felt pretty good to simply take some time and just write. Hopefully you all enjoy reading it.

Oh, and by the way, it seems that I've lost contact with my old Beta reader, since I _have_ been missing for quite a while. If anyone would be interested in helping me out with that, feel free to message me.

Until next time~

-SFX


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